The value of interbank payments, an indicator that that followsclosely the progression of the economy, fell by 2.3% inJuly-September compared with the corresponding period of 2009, to60.5 billion RON (14.2 billion euros).
Data on payments validate analysts' expectations - theyanticipate an economic contraction in the third quarter of theyear, following the austerity measures taken by the Government inthe summer. The Institute of Statistics will publish data on theprogression of the Gross Domestic Product as late as inNovember.
The decline in payments made through banks has, however, sloweddown compared with previous months. For instance, in the first sixmonths of the year payments fell by nearly 5%, while in the similarperiod of last year the drop exceeded 14%, reveal data fromTransfond, the electronic payments operator.
"It is normal for the payment decline to flatten because now weare very close to the lower limit of the economic decline, althoughit is not very clear how much we will stay here. The economy willcontinue to decline in the third quarter, especially consideringthe VAT increase and the cuts to public sector salaries," believesLaurian Lungu, managing partner of Macroanalitica.
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