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Newsroom, 11.08.2015, 12:05

In Romania, consumer prices dropped nearly 1.7% in July compared to the same month last year, with the inflation rate reaching a new all-time low, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute. As against June, the drop was 0.17%, with the most substantial price reductions for foodstuffs reported for vegetables, potatoes and fresh fruit. Significant price rises, by more than 11%, have been reported on the other hand for natural gas. Central Bank experts expect the impact of the measures in the new Fiscal Code bill to keep the inflation at a negative rate in the coming 9 months, although the prices for certain products may increase from one month to another.

The Eurozone finance ministers (Eurogroup) will convene on Friday to approve the third bailout package for Greece, Spains PM Mariano Rajoy announced on Tuesday. Greece and its international lenders reached a technical agreement in Athens on Monday night, with the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF, regarding a third financial assistance programme. Athens announced that Greece has secured funding of nearly 85 billion euros for the coming 3 years, in exchange for a long list of budget reforms and adjustments, while the Greek banks will immediately receive 10 billion euro. The Greek authorities have not accepted the lenders proposal regarding the management of bad debts and want to set up a “bad bank to handle the issue, whereas the international institutions want the bad debts sold to specialised funds. Greece defaulted on payments on July 1. Its total debt exceeded 320 billion euros, of which 65% to the IMF and Eurozone countries.

The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number 3, is playing on Wednesday in the second round of the Rogers Cup tournament in Toronto, against the winner of the match between Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) and Caroline Garcia (France). Another Romanian is playing in the same tournament, Irina Begu, who will face Olga Govortsova (Belarus). On Monday, the first day of the Toronto tournament, which has 2.5 million dollars in prize money, the Romanian pair Irina Begu/Raluca Olaru defeated the Australians Anastasia Radionova/Arina Radionova and qualified into the eighth-finals.