On Wednesday, the INS announced: economic progress in 2023 amounted to . Although economic growth in Romania is still robust compared to many advanced economies, economic growth in Romania has slowed significantly over the past year. Investments formed the basis of growth, noted BRD economists in a report for investors.

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The slowdown in 2023 is taking place against the backdrop of a slowdown in domestic consumption growth, a decrease in activity in the real estate market, and a drop in external demand.

Gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2023 was 0.4% lower in real terms compared to the third quarter of 2023, the INS said

The annual growth of the Eurozone GDP for 2023 was 0.5%. The slow performance is due to the German economy and the flu-like state of its industry, as their business model based on cheap energy from Russia and heavy trade with China has been upended by recent geopolitical events.

In the US, contrary to pessimistic forecasts, the economy grew by 2.5% in 2023, and household consumption played an important role there.

An increase in real available wages in Romania (the average net wage exceeded 1,100 euros in December) and investments financed by EU funds should bring GDP growth closer to the potential level in 2024, according to the BRD report seen by HotNews. .

Hiring has slowed due to weak output growth and high wage costs, while the unemployment rate has stabilized.

Since 2023 was a pre-election year, the fiscal adjustment also took a break.

Retail, in 2023, compared to 2022, it registered growth of only 1.9%, thanks to growth in sales of non-food products (+3.8%) and sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+3.6%). Retail sales of motor vehicle fuel in specialized stores decreased by 4.4%, reports INS

In the first 11 months of last year (latest data), enterprises of trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles increased by 12.1%, and the turnover of market services provided to the population increased by 6.2%.

Similarly, in the period 1.I-30.XI.2023 compared to the period 1.I-30.XI.2022 new orders from industry processing, as a whole (domestic market and foreign market), increased in nominal terms by 4.7%

Also for the first 11 months of 2023. industry turnover in total (domestic market and foreign market) increased in nominal terms by 1.1%

Statistics again made adjustments to the previously published figures.

“As a result of the revision of the gross series of the quarterly GDP by including the estimate of the gross domestic product for the IV quarter of 2023 in the quarterly series, the seasonally adjusted series was recalculated, the physical volume indices were revised relative to the second preliminary version of the gross domestic product for the III quarter of 2023, published in the press release No. 12 of January 12, 2024. Thus:

– the results of the 1st quarter of 2023 compared to the 4th quarter of 2022 were revised from 99.2% to 99.3%;

– the results of the II quarter of 2023 compared to the I quarter of 2023 were revised from 101.5% to 101.3%;

– the results of the 3rd quarter of 2023 compared to the 2nd quarter of 2023 were revised from 100.9% to 100.8%,” the State Statistics Service said.