IMF was to approve yesterday the second letter of intent signed with the Romanian state after assessing the country’s economy in August, and release the second tranche of the some €13 bln two-year loan. The €1.9 bln will be split equally between the reserves of the National Bank of Romania and the state’s Treasury for financing the budget deficit. The Fund will publish the report of the second assessment of Romania’s economy in the coming days.
At the latest issue on the local market, which took place last week, the Ministry of Public Finance placed benchmark government bonds, with three-year maturity, worth RON 983.17 mln (€231 mln), at an average annual return of 9.99 percent, less than that initially accepted, according to the central bank.
Regarding the new macroeconomic indicators (7.3 percent budget deficit and 8.5 percent economic decline) agreed upon with IMF for this year, Mantescu said that these levels are viable, and are adjusted to the current context. “The lowest point of the economic decline will be in the third quarter, and in the last three months of this year there will be a slight increase compared to the previous quarter,” the MFP representative said.
