East European Recovery Gathers Speed as Romanian GDP Surges 5.2% - Bloomberg

East European Recovery Gathers Speed as Romanian GDP Surges 5.2% - Bloomberg:



"Eastern Europe’s economic growth picked up pace last quarter as a recovery strengthened in the euro area, which buys the bulk of the region’s locally made goods, and consumers spent more.



Romania’s expansion beat forecasts by the biggest margin as gross domestic product jumped 5.2 percent compared with the 2.8 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey. On average, GDP growth in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia quickened to 2.5 percent, the fastest expansion in 18 months, from 1.8 percent in the third quarter, according to London-based researcher Capital Economics Ltd. 




Growth “will strengthen further this year,” William Jackson, emerging-markets economist at Capital, said today by e-mail. “We expect a gradual improvement in the euro zone, which should support the region’s export-led industrial sector. Meanwhile, domestic demand should continue to strengthen on the back of improvements in labor markets, looser credit conditions and an easing of fiscal austerity.”"



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