The current account of the balance of payments recorded, in the period January – August 2022, a deficit of 16.986 billion euros, compared to 10.742 billion euros in the period January – August 2021, the National Bank of Romania informs in a press release, according to Agerpres.

In its structure, the balance of goods recorded a deficit greater by 6.690 billion euros, the balance of services recorded a greater surplus by 2.323 billion euros, the balance of primary incomes recorded a greater deficit by 2.423 billion euros, and the balance of secondary revenues registered a surplus higher by 546 million euros.

According to the BNR, between January and August 2022, the total external debt increased by 5.136 billion euros. In terms of structure, the long-term external debt amounted to 96.378 billion euros on August 31, 2022 (68% of the total external debt), down 1.2% compared to December 31, 2021. The short-term external debt recorded on August 31 2022 the level of 45.343 billion euros (32% of the total external debt), increasing by 16.1% compared to December 31, 2021.

The long-term external debt service rate was 15.2% in the period January – August 2022, compared to 17% in 2021. The degree of coverage of imports of goods and services on August 31, 2022 was 4.2 months, compared to 4.9 months on December 31, 2021.

The degree of coverage of the short-term external debt, calculated at the residual value, with foreign exchange reserves at the BNR on August 31, 2022 was 74.3%, compared to 79.4% on December 31, 2021.

Agerpres