National Bank of Romania reports EUR 7.98 billion current account deficit for January to April 2026 and higher external debt

The National Bank of Romania published its latest balance of payments and external debt data, showing that Romania’s current account deficit narrowed to EUR 7.98 billion in January to April 2026 from EUR 9.10 billion a year earlier. The improvement mainly reflected a smaller goods deficit and a larger services surplus, while foreign direct investment by nonresidents fell to EUR 1.529 billion from EUR 2.232 billion in the same period of 2025. Total external debt increased by EUR 1.087 billion from the end of 2025 to EUR 229.55 billion at April 30, 2026. Within the current account, the goods deficit was EUR 698 million smaller and the services surplus was EUR 197 million larger than a year earlier. That was partly offset by a EUR 204 million wider primary income deficit, while secondary income made a positive contribution of EUR 430 million. Of the direct investment inflows, equity participation including reinvested earnings totaled EUR 2.020 billion, while intragroup loans posted a negative net value of EUR 491 million. In the external debt structure, long-term debt stood at EUR 182.774 billion, or 79.6% of the total, up 1.4% from December 31, 2025, while short-term debt fell 2.8% to EUR 46.776 billion, or 20.4% of the total. The long-term external debt service ratio was 14.9% in January to April 2026, compared with 18.4% in 2025. Import cover rose to 6.2 months from 6.0 months at end-2025, and foreign exchange reserves covered 105.0% of residual short-term external debt, up from 104.4%. The next monthly balance of payments and external debt release is scheduled for July 15, 2026.