Romania's trade shortfall decreases for the second consecutive month in June
Romania's Trade Deficit Narrows in June 2025
Romania's trade deficit saw a significant decrease in June 2025, contracting by approximately 15% year-on-year to around EUR 2.37 billion. This improvement was primarily due to exports rising significantly faster than imports [1][3].
The growth in exports was driven by a 6.3% year-on-year increase to EUR 8.22 billion. This increase was supported by a 9% increase in sales to non-EU markets and a 5.25% increase to EU countries. The export of mineral fuels, in particular, surged strongly, advancing 34% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, bolstering export revenues [1][3].
Imports, on the other hand, grew much more modestly by 0.6% year-on-year to EUR 10.59 billion. This relatively restrained import growth was influenced by cautious private and public consumption [1][3].
Additional underlying factors included lower crude oil prices in Q2 2025 and a milder winter season, resulting in more natural gas reserves. These energy-related factors helped reduce import costs, further supporting the trade balance improvement [3].
The improvement in Romania's trade deficit was not yet visible in the trade gap to GDP ratio, which remained at 9.9% for the 12-month period to June 2025, the same level seen in March 2025. Despite this, the trade gap in June eased for the second consecutive month, to EUR 2.4 billion, bringing the rolling 12-month gap to EUR 35.0 billion, still a +13.9% y/y increase from the previous period [1][3].
In Q2, the annual advance of imports eased to +2.0% y/y after the +8.1% y/y increase in Q1. The imports of mineral products showed an annual rise of +9.1% y/y in Jan-Jun, a decrease from the +31% y/y increase in Q1, suggesting more reserves remained after a mild winter season [1][3].
The trade gap to GDP ratio has not shown any significant improvement since June 2025, and has not yet returned to pre-2022 levels. This is due in part to the ongoing impact of expensive energy imports, pushed by the war in Ukraine [1][3].
In conclusion, the combination of a robust export performance—especially in mineral fuels—and moderation in import growth due to subdued domestic demand and favorable energy price/mild weather conditions accounted for the 15% contraction in Romania’s trade deficit in June 2025 [1][3].
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