Romania’s gross domestic product grew 5.3% in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the third quarter. Analysts expected marginal quarterly growth of around 0.5% in the fourth quarter.
Fourth-quarter GDP contracted 1.5% in annual terms and full-year economic growth came in at -3.9%, a milder contraction compared with the government’s expectation of -4.2%.
Romanian prime minister Florin Citu, who served as the country’s finance minister for most of 2020, referred to the quarterly growth as “a fantastic performance” and said today’s numbers show the government’s support measures worked and the country was “certainly” headed for a V-shaped recovery.
Romania rolled out a government support package of 4.45% of GDP throughout 2020 to fight the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government sees economic growth at 4.3% this year.