EBRD forecasts 2.4 percent economic growth for Romania in 2014

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) anticipates a 2.4 percent economic advance for the current year, below the World Bank’s estimation of 2.5 percent announced last week. Exports and a pick-up in domestic demand are considered to be the main factors consolidating the economic growth, yet, improvement prospects on short term will remain constrained by a weak Eurozone, according to the bank’s report on the economic prospects in countries where it operates.

Besides that, the high volume of non-performing loans which represents more than 20 percent of total loans, as well as ongoing cross-border deleveraging may affect the improvement forecast in the near terms by holding down the credit recovery.

Last year, Romania recorded a significant progress in terms of economic growth, the GDP rising by 2.8 percent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) at nine months , driven by a strong export performance and the recovery in the agriculture sector, which effectively boomed, the production reaching record-high level.