In February 2022, the bank predicted an inflation rate of 9.6% at the end of 2022 and of 3.2% at the end of 2023.
Romania’s annual inflation rate jumped to 13.8% in April 2022 compared to April 2021, data from the country’s statistics board INS showed Wednesday (May 11). Food prices grew by 13.5%, services prices climbed 7%, while prices of non-food items were 16.3% higher in April 2022 compared with April 2021.
Isarescu also said on Thursday that Romania’s economy is not and will not go into recession and an economic growth of 2% is expected in 2022.
“We are not (in recession – ed.n.) and I do not think the Romanian economy will go into recession, but an economic growth of around 2%, I think that is where we shall get. It also depends on the agricultural year. We are not in recession … We are not preparing for anything bleak. Things are still under control. We have a major problem in the field of taxation and we need to solve it because the greatest pressure is there and we must take care of it,” Isarescu said when asked if Romania will go into recession.
The governor pointed out that production and industry are functioning, adding he did not expect “Romania to become a net exporter of services”.
“(…) many parts of the economy are working. I’m not ready to give you all the data now, but the economy is working. We have a major problem though: it is impossible for 26%-27% of GDP budget revenues to cover around 40% of expenditure in the long run. It’s been happening since I was Prime Minister, so I know them by heart. The same kind of discussion, we try to get some from one side and push it to the other. That’s a structural problem. So, the economy is still working,” Isarescu concluded.