Romania’s industrial production declined by 2.2% year-on-year in March 2026, following a revised 1.6% drop in February. The downturn was driven mainly by a deeper contraction in manufacturing output (-3.1% vs -2.3% in February), with notable weakness in the production of beverages; coke and refined petroleum products; chemicals and chemical products; basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; rubber and plastic products; other non-metallic mineral products; basic metals; machinery and equipment n.e.c.; and motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers.
By contrast, the mining and quarrying sector returned to growth, expanding by 1.3% after a 2.9% decline in the previous month. This improvement reflected milder contractions in the mining of coal, lignite, and metal ores, as well as a rebound in other mining and quarrying activities. The supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning also strengthened slightly, rising 3.8% compared with 3.7% in February.
On a monthly basis, industrial production increased by 0.3% in March, offsetting the 0.4% decline recorded in February.
