Standard & Poor's includes Romania among vulnerable economies

Romania was included among the vulnerable economies in the latest S&P report, along with the Baltic states, Hungary and Bulgaria, NewsIn reports. The analysts of the agency point at the fact that the crisis effects are currently intensifying in the Central and Eastern Europe countries, although the first half of 2008 seemed to be pointing at more optimistic prognosis.

The financial crisis begun to affect the developed economies at the middle of 2007 and it did nor reflect immediately in the CEE states. The economies here seemed to hold on fine even during the first half of 2008, but the effects of the crisis are starting to be felt at this moment, said Jean-Michel Six, chief economist for Europe at Standard & Poor’s.

The resistance of the Central and Eastern Europe economies seems to collapse under the pressure of high debt in convertible currencies and of the new priorities of foreign banks’ financing, the S&P report says.

The report divides the region into two groups, one of more stable economies – Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic – and one of vulnerable economies, a category that includes Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary and Bulgaria.

The rating agency estimates that Romania will see a 0.8% growth in 2009, after the 7.3% growth in 2008.