The investments in tangible assets rose even faster, by over 17% y/y in the first half of the year and by over 20% y/y in Q2. The contribution of the EU-funded Resilience Facility has been highly visible in the first half of the year and will remain so in full 2026.
The investments in new constructions, nearly two-thirds, rose well faster than average by 17.8% y/y in H1 this year after an outstanding 21.5% y/y advance in Q2. The investments in productive equipment rose by over 18% y/y in each Q2 and H1.
The overall advance of Romania’s net investments was dragged down significantly (-25% y/y for H1) by a lower volume of “other investments” – such as R&D investments, acquisition of land and cattle, but also geological explorations.
Investments remained a significant growth driver in the first half of the year, but lower consumption dragged down the economic growth into negative area.
Romania’s economy contracted by 0.4% year on year in the second quarter of 2026 (chart), narrowing from a 1.2% decline in the first quarter, with GDP down 0.7% in the first half of the year, according to preliminary data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on September 7.
Construction was the only major sector to make a substantial positive contribution to Q2 and H1 economic activity. Construction output increased by 15.3% year on year in Q2 and 12.3% in H1, contributing 0.9 percentage points and 0.7pp to GDP growth, respectively, partly offsetting declines in industry and most services.
On the demand side, gross fixed capital formation rose 12.7% year on year in Q2 and 10.9% in H1, while household consumption declined 1% in both periods.
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