The positive balance was due to narrower income and trade deficits and to a surplus in the services segment.

The services segment registered a surplus of EUR783 million in the first five months of 2013, compared with a deficit of EUR18 million in the same period of last year.

The income balance posted a deficit of EUR779 million in the January-May period, versus a gap of EUR1.28 billion in the year-earlier period, while the trade deficit shrank by EUR502 million year-on-year, the data showed.

The current transfer surplus narrowed to EUR1.6 billion, from EUR1.77 billion in the first five months of 2012.

Foreign direct investments were estimated at EUR414 million in the January-May period, down from EUR656 million in the corresponding months of 2012.

Romania’s total external debt reached EUR99.96 billion at the end of May, up from EUR98.96 billion in December 2012. The medium and long-term debt stood at EUR79.5 billion, while the short-term debt was EUR20.46 billion.

Romania’s current account deficit narrowed to EUR5.04 billion in 2012, from a gap of EUR5.94 billion a year earlier, largely due to reduced income and trade deficits.