Romania’s balance-of-payments current account recorded a deficit of EUR 347 million in the first seven months of the year, down from EUR 997 million in the same period in 2014.

The current account deficit reflects the difference between the money going out of the country and the money coming in during a given period. The higher trade deficit (EUR 3.64 billion compared to EUR 3 billion) was compensated by a higher surplus on the services side (EUR 3.64 billion compared to EUR 3.33 billion).

The primary income deficit, which reflects the net position on cross-border employee compensations and investment income, went down from EUR 2.28 billion to EUR 1.69 billion. The secondary income balance, which reflects other money transfers made by individuals, companies, and the Government, showed a surplus of EUR 1.24 billion, up from EUR 962 million in the first seven months of 2014.

Romania’s long-term external debt amounted to EUR 70.4 billion at the end of July, down by 6.9% compared to the end of December, 2014. Meanwhile, the short-term external debt reached EUR 20 billion at the end of July, up by 8.2% compared to December 31, last year.

However, the total external debt went down by EUR 3.7 billion in this period, as the central bank and the Finance Ministry repaid some EUR 1.2 billion of the loan from the IMF.

editor@romania-insider.com