The breakdown shows that the deficit resulted from the international exchange of goods stood at EUR4.2 billion, EUR39 million lower than at the end of February 2023, and the surplus on services shrank by EUR456 million to EUR1.9 billion in the first two months of 2024.
In terms of services, the transport segment reported surplus of EUR988 million, higher by EUR37 million on the year, the telecommunications, computer and information services ended February 2024 with a surplus of EUR1.01 billion, higher by EUR19 million on the year, and the tourism-travel deficit widened to EUR948 million from EUR431 million in February 2023.
The primary income balance, which includes compensation of employees, investment income (direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment) and other primary income (taxes, subsidies), recorded a deficit of EUR795 million in January-February 2024, almost three times higher than in the year-ago period.
The secondary income balance, which includes current private transfers and transfers of the general government, generated a surplus of EUR345 million in January-February 2024, compared with a EUR52 million deficit in January-February 2023.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at EUR1.22 billion in January-February 2023, compared with EUR1.34 billion in the same period of 2023. Of the overall FDI, equity stakes (including estimated net reinvestment of earnings) amounted to a net EUR1.1 billion, while intra-group lending reached EUR124 million, the data showed.
Romania’s total external debt (public and private) increased by EUR6.7 billion to EUR176 billion in January-February 2024 compared with the end of 2023, central bank also showed on Friday (April 12, 2024).
Of the total volume, the external debt stood at EUR130 billion, an increase of EUR6 billion, and intra-group lending at EUR46 billion.
Long-term external debt stood at EUR128.4 billion on February 29, accounting for 72.6% of the total external debt, up 5.5% compared with December 31, 2023. Short-term external debt stood at EUR48 billion at end-February 2024 (27.4% of the total external debt), up 0.2%.
Long-term external debt service ratio stood at 10.9% in February 2024 against 16.7% in 2023. At end-February 2024, goods and services import cover stood at 6.1 months, compared with 5.6 months on December 31, 2023.