INS revises upwards to 4.4 pct estimate on GDP advance in 2018

The National Institute of Statistics (INS) has revised upwards to 4.4 pct the estimate regarding the advance of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018, according to the semi-definitive data published on Friday. In the provisional version, from August 2019, Romania's economic growth estimate was 4.1 pct in 2018 compared to 2017, while in the semi-definitive version published on Friday, INS shows that GDP was higher by 4.4 pct in the reference period. "The estimated gross domestic product for 2018 - semi-definitive data - was 952396.8 million lei current prices, on the increase - in real terms - by 4.4 pct compared to 2017. Compared with the provisional version, in the semi-definitive version, the nominal gross domestic product estimated for 2018 increased by 0.9 percent," says the quoted source. In 2018, the expenditure for final consumption of households recorded major changes in the contribution to GDP growth, between the two estimates, from + 3.3 pct to + 4.5 pct, as a result of its volume increase by + 1.9 percentage points (from 105.3 pct to 107.2 pct). Also, the negative contribution of investments was revised downwards, from -0.7 pct to -0.3 pct, following the change of its volume by +2 percentage points (from 96.8 pct to 98.8 pct). Last year, changes in the contribution to GDP growth, between the two estimates, were registered in: constructions, from -0.3 pct to -0.1 pct, as a result of the change in volume of business by +4,6 percentage points (of 94.4 pct to 99 pct); wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; hotels and restaurants, from + 0.7 pct to + 0.8 pct, as a result of the change in the volume of business by +0.3 percentage points (from 103.9 pct to 104.2 pct); financial intermediation and insurance, from 0 pct to + 0.1 pct, as a result of the change in the volume of activity by +2 percentage points (from 100.8 pct to 102.8 pct); public administration and defense; social insurance in the public system; education; health and social assistance, from + 0.2 pct to + 0.3 pct, as a result of the change in business volume by +0.6 percentage points (from 101.6 pct to 102.2 pct); entertainment, cultural and recreational activities; repairs of household products and other services, from + 0.1 pct to 0 pct, as a result of the change in business volume by -3.4 percentage points (from 103.0 pct to 99.6 pct). AGERPRES (RO - author: Andreea Marinescu, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Adina Panaitescu)