“In Romania, economic activity lost upward momentum in the second quarter. Industrial production slowed and the confident sentiment in industry has deteriorated in the past few months, on the back of a decline in order book levels,” Raiffeisen said in its latest forecast report for the Central and Eastern Europe.
However, the Austrian group maintained unchanged its prediction on the 2011 economic growth to 1.5%.
Romania’s leu is expected to trade at 4.21 on average versus the euro in 2011, from 4.17 versus the euro previously envisaged. For 2012, Raiffeisen estimates an average rate of 4.19 versus the euro.
Raiffeisen estimates an economic growth of 1.8% in the SEE region (which includes Romania) this year, slightly down from 1.9% previously. For 2012, the bank revised its forecast to 2.5% from 4.5%.