
Economy
ING cuts Romania's 2026 growth forecast
The Romanian economy is entering 2026 on a fragile footing, prompting ING analysts to significantly lower their growth expectations for the year.

Romania's economy grew by 0.6% in 2025 but ended the year in a technical recession.
Romania's Ministry of Finance has announced the adoption of a Formal Opinion by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Committee on Fiscal Affairs, following the country's evaluation as part of its accession process to the OECD.
Romania recorded the lowest rate of generative artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among young people in the European Union in 2025, according to data released by Eurostat.
Banca de Investiții și Dezvoltare (BID) has signed 18 guarantee agreements with financial intermediaries in Romania.
Romania's trade deficit decreased by €673 million to €32.7 billion in 2025, representing a 2% improvement compared to 2024, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Data from financial analysis platform RisCo.ro reveals clear differences between Romania's largest employers. State companies dominate the ranking by employee count, but private firms lead significantly in turnover, profit and efficiency per employee.
Forvis Mazars Group has released its annual C-suite barometer showing that 92% of global executives expect growth in 2026, despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
Romania's Ministry of Finance has published a legislative package aimed at establishing mechanisms to support strategic investments and accelerate the country's economic recovery.
Romania's foreign exchange reserves reached €65.81 billion on 31 January 2026, according to data released by the National Bank of Romania (BNR).
Romanian companies represent 53% of the top 5,000 companies in Romania, but figures show significant differences between the country's regions.
The Confidex index has dropped from 51.3 to 47.2 compared to the previous edition, marking the largest decrease since the study's launch with nearly 7 percentage points, returning to a level comparable to H1 2021.
CEOs are more confident in their own companies' prospects than they are in the outlook for the global economy, according to the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey, a quarterly survey of 1,200 global CEOs across 21 countries.
CEE is entering an uneven economic recovery against a backdrop of inflationary pressures, with Romania remaining under pressure from inflation...
While the EU discusses applying handling fees for parcels worth less than €150 from non-EU countries, Romania and Italy have decided to implement it this year.
Only three in ten (30%) global CEOs are confident their companies will have higher revenues in the next 12 months, according to the PwC Global CEO Survey 2026, launched at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. This percentage is the lowest in five years.
Romania recorded the highest annual inflation rate in the European Union in December 2025, reaching 8.6% according to data released by Eurostat.
Romania has the second-lowest consumer prices in the European Union, with costs 36% below the EU average in 2024, according to new Eurostat data released in December 2025.
Romania's inflation remained at 9.7% at the end of 2025, with mixed pressures across different spending categories in December.
Romania's annual inflation rate decreased to 9.69% in December from 9.76% in November, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
The World Bank revised down Romania's 2026 growth forecast to 1.3%, compared to the 1.9% predicted in June 2025 and 2.6% estimated in January 2025.
The Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) has unanimously decided to support the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, backing the decision made by the European Association of Chambers of Commerce (Eurochambres) at its November 2024 General Assembly.
Romania's Competition Council has fined eight companies a total of €32.15 million for participating in an anti-competitive agreement to divide the labour market and limit employee mobility while keeping human resource costs low.
Romania's trade balance deficit (FOB/CIF) for January-November 2025 reached €29.77 billion, down €299.6 million (-1.0%) compared to the same period in 2024, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Retail trade volume in Romania remained flat in November 2025 compared to the previous month, according to the latest data released by Eurostat.

The Romanian economy is entering 2026 on a fragile footing, prompting ING analysts to significantly lower their growth expectations for the year.
OMV Petrom will construct a photovoltaic park at its Petrobrazi refinery in Romania.
Romania's economy grew by 0.6% in 2025 but ended the year in a technical recession.
Shareholders of state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica have approved the final investment decision for the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project at Doicești.
Electro-Alfa International has raised approximately 580 million RON (€115 million) for around 66 million newly issued shares, equivalent to a 35% free-float, following its initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).