CNP: Economy sees rise beyond expectations

This year’s economic growth will stand at 6.5-6.7%, compared with the initial forecast of 6%, Ion Ghizdeanu, chairman of the National Forecast Commission (CNP) told ZIARUL FINANCIAR. The head of the CNP says the economy rose
beyond expectations in the first half of the year, which pushed up the target for the whole year. Ghizdeanu says the Gross Domestic Product went
up by about 7% in the first six months, but the exact figure will be announced officially by the National Statistics Institute next week. “According to a preliminary version of the autumn forecast, the value of the GDP for 2006 was revised upward by 5.5 billion RON, to some 336 billion,” said the chairman of the CNP. The data computed by the Forecast Commission is taken as a basis for the building the budget, as well as for devising governmental policies. Translated in monetary terms, the revision of economic growth from 6% to
6.5%-6.7% amounts to an increase of some 1.6 billion euros. Consequently, GDP could stand at 94.6 billion euros this year, slightly higher that the official estimate of 93 billion euros. Last year’s GDP reached 79.3 billion euros.