S&P keeps Romania at investment grade as the euro tops 5.34 lei
Parliament rejected Siegfried Mureșan's government on 30 September, the third failed nomination since May. On 2 October the BNR reference rate put the euro at 5.3447 lei, the highest since at least 2016, and three-month ROBOR reached 6.11%, its highest since January. That evening S&P affirmed Romania at BBB-, the lowest investment grade, and kept the outlook negative. Eurostat put Romania's second-quarter current account deficit at €7.8 billion, the largest in the EU.
S&P affirms BBB- after a third failed government
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Romania at BBB-/A-3 on the evening of 2 October and kept the outlook negative. The rating stays one notch above speculative grade.
The decision came two days after Parliament rejected Siegfried Mureșan's government: 182 votes in favour, with 233 needed. It was the third failed nomination since the government fell in May. S&P said consolidation is on track this year. A long deadlock that holds back deficit cuts in 2027 and 2028 is what it named as grounds for a downgrade.
S&P affirms Romania at BBB-/A-3 and keeps the outlook negative
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Romania's long- and short-term foreign and local currency ratings at BBB-/A-3, the lowest investment grade, on 2 October. It said fiscal consolidation in 2026 is on track, but the risks to narrowing the budget and current account deficits remain elevated. It could lower the rating if a long political deadlock holds back deficit reduction in 2027 and 2028. It could revise the outlook to stable if both deficits narrow under a credible medium-term plan.
The leu, ROBOR, IRCC and the current account
The BNR reference rate put the euro at 5.3447 lei on 2 October, up 1.27% from 5.2777 the day before and the highest since at least 2016, as far back as the site's series goes. It eased to 5.3306 on 5 October.
Three-month ROBOR rose from 5.97% on 28 September to 6.11% on 2 October, the highest since early January. IRCC, the index for variable-rate consumer loans, is 5.57% for October to December, from 5.56%. IRCC is the second-quarter average of BNR's daily index, which reached 6.18% on 2 October.
Eurostat put Romania's second-quarter current account deficit at €7.8 billion, the largest in the EU, after €5.4 billion in the first quarter. On the site's Eurostat series that is 8.1% of GDP. Eurostat's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.4% in August, as in July and up from 6.1% a year earlier.
Recorded this week
S&P's affirmation is recorded with the conditions it set for a downgrade and for a stable outlook.
Romania submitted its sixth and final PNRR payment request on 30 September; the Commission now assesses it. The 25% cut in diesel excise was extended to 1–15 October.
Strabag completed its takeover of railway builder BAWI Construction, and Cris-Tim signed to buy Via Trend Ready Meals and Snack 4U.
S&P affirms Romania at BBB-/A-3 and keeps the outlook negative
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Romania's long- and short-term foreign and local currency ratings at BBB-/A-3, the lowest investment grade, on 2 October. It said fiscal consolidation in 2026 is on track, but the risks to narrowing the budget and current account deficits remain elevated. It could lower the rating if a long political deadlock holds back deficit reduction in 2027 and 2028. It could revise the outlook to stable if both deficits narrow under a credible medium-term plan.
Romania submits its sixth and final PNRR payment request, for €6.04 billion before pre-financing
The request covers 104 milestones and targets. Net of pre-financing it asks for €4.35 billion: €2.58 billion in grants and €1.77 billion in loans. The European Commission now assesses it; payment follows a positive assessment.
Diesel excise stays 25% lower for 1–15 October
Under Law 162/2026 the Ministry of Finance reviews the diesel excise every two weeks against international quotations and pump prices, and keeps the cut applied in the preceding periods. The reduction is 701.07 lei per 1,000 litres, leaving an effective excise of 2,103.22 lei per 1,000 litres on standard diesel.
Strabag completes its takeover of railway builder BAWI Construction
Austria's STRABAG SE completed the purchase of 100% of BAWI Construction SRL on 1 October, after the regulatory approvals. BAWI is a Bucharest railway infrastructure contractor with 240 employees and €60 million of output in 2025. The takeover was announced on 11 June. The price was not disclosed.
Cris-Tim signs to buy ready-meals rival Via Trend and sandwich maker Snack 4U
Cris-Tim Family Holding (BVB: CFH) signed on 2 October to buy 100% of Via Trend Ready Meals SRL from Brainfly Ltd, and with it Snack 4U Concept SRL, Romania's largest sandwich maker. The two companies run three production units with 380 staff and had average adjusted turnover of about 143.2 million lei a year in 2023–2025. The price was not disclosed. Cris-Tim expects to cut back significantly the roughly 100 million lei it had planned for a new ready-meals plant.
Next week
A BNR board rate decision is scheduled during the week. The policy rate is 6.50%, with the deposit facility at 5.50% and the lending facility at 7.50%.
INS publishes August earnings on 12 October and September national CPI on 13 October. InterCapital's Polish equity ETF is due to list on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on 12 October.
InterCapital to list a Polish equity ETF on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on 12 October
The InterCapital Poland WIG30TR UCITS ETF tracks Warsaw's 30 largest companies and held about €12 million on 31 August. The listing is subject to final BVB approval and would be the provider's fifth ETF on the exchange.
Information, not investment advice. Figures are as published by the named sources on the dates shown.