Romania Q1 GDP Growth Falls to 2020 Lows

2026-06-05 06:39 By Jereli Escobar 1 min. read

Romania’s economy declined 1.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, easing from a 1.7% fall in the initial estimate and down from 0.2% growth in the previous quarter, according to second estimates.

This marked the first contraction since Q4 2020, driven by declines in government spending (-0.6%) and household consumption (-1.7%).

However, growth was seen in gross fixed capital formation (4.7%) and net external demand, as exports rose 1.9% while imports grew 1.2%.

On the production side, output fell in mining and quarrying (-1.2%), wholesale and retail trade (-3.1%), information and communication (-4.1%), real estate (-1.9%), professional and scientific activities (-3.9%), and public administration and defence (-1.3%), while the strongest gains were recorded in construction (7.9%) and culture and recreation activities (11.6%).

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP was flat, revised from 0.2% fall in the preliminary data, following a 1.9% decline in the previous quarter.



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