By Iulian Ernst in Bucharest Household consumption expenditure in Romania (chart) increased to 67.1% of GDP in Q1, the highest level since Q1 2020, and 63.6% in Q2 – 2.3 percentage points (pp) up from the same quarter last year, according to data published by the statistics office. Household consumption as a share of GDP has recovered from the lower readings seen during the COVID-19 crisis and the first years of the war in Ukraine, but the levels in 2024 are not particularly high compared to the past decade. Significantly higher shares (some 5pp higher level) were seen before the 2008 crisis. …