Romania’s GDP surges 6.6 pct in H1, above target
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s gross domestic product rose 6.6 percent in real terms between January and June from the same period in 2003, driven by growth in construction, services and industry; data showed yesterday. Officials in the EU candidate country have revised this year’s economic growth target to 6.5 percent from 5.5 percent and cut the budget deficit target to 1.64 percent of GDP from 2.1 percent. The National Statistics Board (INS) said in a statement the economy expanded to 907.9 trillion lei ($26.7 billion) thanks to growth in the construction, industry and services sectors, which rose by 8.6 percent, 5.9 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. Agriculture rose by 5.3 percent. Gross fixed capital creation rose by 10.4 percent. Officials have said Romania needs growth rates faster than the current 5-6 percent to catch up with EU levels. But analysts warn that there is a danger of overheating with the country trying to cut inflation.
