Standard & Poor's : Romania could see a budget gap of 6.2% of GDP in 2009

The agency stresses the importance of measures to restrain spendings, as the advance in revenues is starting to seriously decelerate.S&P also points out the government has so far conducted an expansionist fiscal policy which fueled in its turn the internal demand.

But starting with 2010, Romania's public deficit could narrow to 4.9 percent of the GDP, S&P estimates. The agency sees the budget gap at 4 percent in 2011. At the same time, the weight of the government public debt in the GDP is expected to grow in the following years, to 24.1 percent in 2010 and 26.1 percent in 2011. The agency lowered on October 27 Romania's long- and short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings to BB+ from BBB with a negative outlook, showing the balance of risks on the downside.

Then, on November 10, rating agency Fitch took a similar step. Moody's is the only rating agency which kept the country in the investment grade league.The finance ministry targets a budget gap of 2 percent of the GDP this year, after the general consolidated budget deficit reached 4.8 percent last year according to Romanian standards and 5.21 percent according to European standards.