The Romanian economy shrank by 1.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, confirming the second estimate and reversing the 0.2% growth recorded in the previous quarter. This was the first annual contraction since the fourth quarter of 2020, underscoring a pronounced loss of momentum at the start of the year.
On the expenditure side, household consumption fell by 1.0%. By contrast, government spending rose sharply (12.9%), gross fixed capital formation increased by 2.2%, and net external demand also made a positive contribution, with exports up 1.3% and imports edging 0.5% higher.
On the production side, the decline in output was driven mainly by mining and quarrying (-1.3%), wholesale and retail trade (-3.2%), information and communication (-4.1%), and professional, scientific and technical activities (-3.8%).
In seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, GDP was flat, following a 1.9% contraction in the previous three-month period.
