First decline of short-term foreign debt in 3 years

Short-term foreign debt fell slightly in the second quarter of the year, which put an end to over three years of uninterrupted growth. Midway through the year, short-term debt amounted to 17.59 billion euros, 3.4% lower than the 18.22 billion euros recorded in March, according to data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania). The correction was generated by the decline in short-term funding attracted by local banks by almost 700 million euros, to 7.8 billion euros. Companies, in turn, saw a very slight rise in the amount of short-term loans attracted, to 9.6 billion euros. Banks and private companies account for almost all short-term (less than a year) loans attracted from abroad. Short-term foreign debt has seen a high growth rate since 2005. While volumes amounted to 2.7 billion euros at the end of 2004, by December 2006, they had gone up 4 times and reached 10.9 billion euros. The all-time high was reached in March this year, when overall short-term loans attracted amounted to 18.22 billion euros.