More than five in ten retail managers in Romania expecting prices to rise in coming months

More than half (54.5%) of Romanian retail managers and 57% of construction managers believe that prices will increase between July and September 2025, according to data published on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

According to data with INS, managers in the manufacturing industry expect a relative stability of production for the next three months, reflected by a short-term percentage balance of + 0.3%. As for the number of employees, a moderate decrease is estimated, with a short-term percentage balance of -6.2%. Prices of industrial products are expected to follow an upward trend, indicated by a balance of +42.6%.

As regards the volume of production, the construction sector is expected to post a positive dynamic in the next three months, with a cyclical percentage balance of +9.2%. Managers expect a relative stability of the number of employees (short-term percentage balance +1.0%). Construction prices are expected to follow an upward trajectory reflected by a cyclical balance of +54.5%.

In the retail trade sector, managers estimate a moderate decrease in turnover for the next three months (cyclical percentage balance -9.0%). As far as the workforce is concerned, employers anticipate a relative stability of the number of employees (cyclical balance +5.1%). Price increases are estimated by 54.5% of respondents and only 1.3% say that prices will decrease; the short-term percentage balance is thus 53.2%.

Based on the estimated data, the volume of services (turnover) expected for the next three months indicates a trend of relative stability, the cyclical balance being +1.6%. In the services sector, the number of employees is forecast to remain almost unchanged, with a short-term percentage balance of -0.5%. Sales or invoicing prices are expected to follow an upward trajectory, reflected by a cyclical balance of +36.4%.

INS says that the short-term balance reflected by the survey indicates the perception of business managers on the dynamics of a phenomenon that should not be confused with the rate of increase or decrease of any statistical indicator produced by the INS.

The short-term percentage balance is the difference between the percentage of managers who chose the positive version of the phenomenon and the percentage of those who indicated the negative version, as follows: up to ą 5% relative stability; ą 6% to ą 15% moderate increase or moderate decrease, respectively; ą 16% to ą 40% increase or decrease, respectively; over ą 40% sharp increase or decrease, respectively.