IMF no longer believes Romania will achieve 1.3% growth

The IMF is preparing a downward revision of the economic growth forecast for Romania this year, from 1.3% to 0.8-1% of GDP, given that the weak performance of the industry in February and the continuation of the trade decline are considered disappointing by specialists in terms of the chances for an economic rebound.
The Fund, however, continues to believe that the rebound might happen in the second half of the year.
“The Romanian economy has been in intensive care. (…) It’s like a patient that came in to the hospital with a high fever. The fever is gone, but the patient is still weak,” Jeffrey Franks, the head of the IMF mission in Romania said on the “Dupa 20 de ani” (“20 Years Later”) show broadcast by ProTV. He believes the economy will see positive growth in the second half of his year, which will be the start of a rebound, but warns that the levels before the crisis will not be reached, at least at first.
On the other hand, Barclays Capital, the investment arm of one of the biggest UK banks, believes that recent data about Romania’s economy performance – industrial output, trade, construction, in the first quarter suggest that the economy is still weak and that the recession appears to be W-shaped.