Romanian Industrial Output Falls at Softer Pace

Industrial production in Romania fell 2.2% year-on-year in March 2026, following an upwardly revised 1.6% decline in the previous month. Output continued to contract in manufacturing (-3.1% vs -2.3% in February), particularly in the production of beverages; coke and refined petroleum products; chemicals and chemical products; basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; rubber and plastic products; other non-metallic mineral products; basic metals; machinery and equipment n.e.c.; and motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers. Meanwhile, activity in the mining and quarrying sector rebounded (1.3% vs -2.9%), supported by softer declines in the mining of coal, lignite, and metal ores, alongside a recovery in other mining and quarrying activities. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply also edged higher (3.8% vs 3.7%). On a monthly basis, industrial output rose 0.3% in March, reversing a 0.4% decline in February.

Industrial production in Romania fell by 1.5% year-on-year in February 2026, slowing from a downwardly revised 3.5% drop in the previous month, which had marked a ten-month low. Industrial output declined at a softer pace in the manufacturing sector (-2.4% vs -6.0% in January), with notable increases seen in the manufacture of food products, beverages, paper and paper products, chemicals and chemical products, computer, electronic, and optical products, and other transport equipment. Meanwhile, activity dropped further in mining and quarrying (-3.1% vs -1.6%), driven by lower output in metal ores, coal and lignite, and crude petroleum and natural gas. Additionally, growth in electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply moderated to 4.4% from 9.8% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, industrial output fell by 0.4% in February, easing from an eighteen-month low of a 3.0% loss in the preceding period.

Industrial production in Romania fell 3.8% year-on-year in January 2026, reversing a five-month high of 1.7% in the previous month. This marked the sharpest drop in industrial activity since March 2025, as output declined in manufacturing (-6.0% vs 1.1% in December 2025), particularly in the manufacture of food products, beverages, tanning and dressing of leather, paper and paper products, other non-metallic mineral products, fabricated metal products, electrical equipment, and other transport equipment. At the same time, activity in the mining and quarrying sector dropped (-1.4% vs 2.9%), driven by lower output in metal ores and other mining and quarrying, along with steeper falls in coal and lignite and crude petroleum and natural gas. In contrast, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply rose faster (7.9% vs 2.8%). On a monthly basis, industrial output decreased 3.3% in January, marking a twenty-month low, following a 0.8% rise in December 2025.