Romania’s foreign trade reverses trend and widens by 4.4% y/y in Q2

11 August 2026 Romania’s foreign trade deficit (goods) increased by 4.4% y/y to EUR 8.66 billion in the second quarter of the year (Q2), after it had posted negative annual growth rates for the previous four quarters, data from the Statistics Office (INS) show. For the first half of the year, the trade gap still contracted by 2% to EUR 16.5 billion thanks to the 8.2% y/y contraction in Q1. Both exports and imports rose faster in Q2, by 4.9% y/y (to EUR 25.2 billion) and 4.7% y/y (to EUR 33.9 billion), respectively in Q2, as a result of higher nominal prices driven by energy prices. The imports visibly shifted from a benign trajectory of nominal stabilization (-1.4% y/y in Q1) towards positive growth rates in contrast to the shrinking domestic demand. This was, most likely, an effect of hig