ECONOMY
-In the third quarter of 2023, the employment rate for the working age population (15-64 years) was 63.3%, increasing as against the one recorded during the previous quarter, data from the National Institute of Statistics showed.
-Romania’s Finance Ministry raised RON1.5 billion from banks on Thursday (Dec. 14), selling government paper in two auctions, at annual average yields of 6.37% and 6.08%, respectively, the National Bank of Romania data showed.
-The 2% supplementary turnover tax will cost Romanian banks RON 1 billion (EUR 200 million), according to estimates of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) included in its latest Financial Stability Report.
-Romania’s current account balance posted a deficit of EUR18.3 billion in January-October 2023, down 20% on an annual basis, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) announced.
-Romania’s Fiscal Council said on Thursday (Dec. 14) that the public gap “will very likely exceed significantly in 2024 the [5.9%-of-GDP] deficit of 2023.”
CAPITAL MARKET
Romania’s IPO market continues to grow despite a challenging global environment for stock listings while the outlooks remain upbeat, as this year the market capitalization of companies listed at the Bucharest Stock Exchange hit $44 billion, an EY analysis reveals.
TODAY’S MARKET
EXCHANGE RATES
| EUR 4.9709 | GBP 5.7970 |
| USD 4.5330 | CHF 5.2334 |
| BGN 2.5416 | MDL 0.2545 |
(Source: National Bank of Romania BNR)
BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE (BVB) INDICES
| BET 0.81%, BET-TR 0.82%, BET-FI -0.08%, BET-NG 0.50%, BET-XT 0.72%, BETXT-TR 0.72%, BET-BK 0.74%, RO-TX 0.88%, BETAeRO 0.12% |
CAPITAL MARKET COMMENTARY
| Bucharest stocks traded higher on Friday, mirroring the uptrend across Europe after the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank announced this week they were holding their respective interest rates unchanged. |
