Financial Press Review, December 7

‘How much does an apartment cost in Romania?’ - this is the first topic in today’s the Curierul Naţional. The prices charged on houses are fourteen percent lower than last year. Moreover, buyers can negotiate a 10-20 percent reduction. In November, house prices decreased by two more percentage points.

As stated in the Curierul Naţional, the situation is dramatic for developers, investors and other market players but for the final consumers it is just a better purchase opportunity.

The Ziarul Financiar reads: Car dealers announce first quarter on the rise. At least, according to the data recorded in November when the car market registered a ten percent progress. The explanation consists in the renewal of vouchers in the ‘Rabla’ Programme.

Taking this matter into account, our car manufacturers and merchants claim that the increase will go on not only this month but also next year, in January.

Likewise, the Ziarul Financiar reads: Romania, among the champions of fuel price hikes in the two years of crisis, adding 65 percent to the gas price and 45 percent to diesel oil price, although fuel consumption is decreasing.

Even though when demand goes down, prices should go up, classic economic rules do not apply in the case of gas and diesel oil. The daily adds that large oil companies are developing their business, but they admit that the price growth outran the fuel quantities they had sold.

The Economistul outlines: ‘Intense emotions in Bucharest.’ Yesterday began the last assessment visit, which was undertaken for issuing the report on our country’s level of preparation for entering the Schengen Area.

At the end of the mission, the evaluation committee will draw a report whose conclusion will be made public in a month’s time.

We end our press review with the daily Bursa which informs us that today the Government has submitted the budget to the Parliament. It is a so called budget for power, which is ‘real and achievable’; a budget criticized by the opposition and about which forecaster Daniel Dăianu, quoted by the Bursa, asserts that it would have another real effect on economy if there were no waste of public funds or peculation.

Translated by: Cristina Anamaria Maricescu
Ma student, MTTLC, Bucharest University