December 7 (SeeNews) - The construction industry and services were the main engine behind the growth of Romania's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first nine months of the year, while agriculture slowed it down, figures of the country's statistics office (INS) indicated on Friday.
Romania’s nine-month GDP rose by a real 5.8% on the year to an estimated 266.6 billion lei ($111 billion/76 billion euro), slower than the real 7.4% growth recorded in the same period of 2006. INS released the nine-month GDP figure last week and presented a breakdown by sectors at a news conference on Friday.
The construction sector posted a year-on-year growth of 34.4% through September, while services grew 7.0% on the year. Industry grew by 5.6% on the year in the first nine months.
The country's growth was slowed down by the performance of the agriculture sector, which fell by 18.3% on the year.
INS data showed that consumption increased by 9.7% in the nine months through September compared to the same period in 2006.
In the third quarter Romania's economy grew by 5.6% on the year.
Romania's Finance and Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian estimated in September that the country's GDP will grow by a real 6.0 to 6.5% this year. Romania's GDP rose by 7.7% in 2006, to 342.4 billion lei. The country joined the EU in January.
(1 euro = 3.5088 Romanian lei)