Romania in recession, economy shrinks 1% in Q2

The Romanian economy contracted by 1.0 percent in the second quarter to fall back in recession following a 0.2 percent drop in the first quarter, official data showed on Thursday.
The second quarter decline was the steepest in the European Union, Eurostat figures showed.
"With 0.2 percent negative growth in the first quarter and 1.0 percent contraction in the second quarter, our economy is in recession, by European standards," President Traian Basescu told a press conference.
An initial estimate by the Romanian statistics institute (INS) had suggested that the economy grew by 0.2 percent in the first quarter.
But after Eurostat released data for the 28 European bloc members, the INS said it had revised the first quarter data down to a fall of 0.2 percent.
Analysts said the latest slump was triggered by a 10-percent drop in foreign direct investment, the negative impact on businesses of taxes introduced in the spring.
Bucharest has also failed to effectively spend more of the 20 billion euros ($27 billion) made available by the European Union to help Romania catch up with more developed EU members.
Romania suffered through a deep recession in 2009 and 2010, when business activity contracted by 9.1 percent, before slumping again in early 2012.
In 2013, the economy expanded by 3.5 percent however, to post the EU's highest growth rate last year.
Romanian economic growth is still expected to reach 2.2 percent for 2014 as a whole.