Romanian GDP drops 7.2 percent in 2009

The Hotnews.ro news agency quoted the institute as saying reasons leading to the economic dip were the increase in taxes for products, and a drop in domestic demand.

"The rises in taxes made prices soar 13.87 percent, which had a strong influence on the consumer price index," the report said.

Commercial business dropped 37.3 percent in 2009 from 2008, mainly due to a 44.6 percent decline in automotive sales, figures show.

The institute forecast Romania wouldn't be out of recession until the third quarter.

As a result of the findings, Romania's Central Bank adjusted the 2010 inflation forecast up from 2.6 percent to 3.5 percent and estimated the inflation rate for 2011 to be 2.7 percent, the report said.

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