Romania Slips Into Recession After Austerity Curbs Demand (1)

Romania’s economy entered recession at the end of last year as a series of austerity measures aimed at narrowing the European Union’s widest budget deficit curbed spending by people and businesses.

Gross domestic product shrank 1.9% in the October-December period, the second quarterly contraction after a revised 0.1% decline in the previous three months, data released by the National Statistics Office showed on Friday. On an annual basis, GDP growth slowed to 0.1%, significantly below the median estimate of 1.3% expansion in a Bloomberg survey.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan signaled earlier this week the possibility of a recession because ...