BUCHAREST, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Romania's trade deficit shrank 1.1 percent to 9.6 billion euros ($12.85 billion) on the year in 2012, the National Statistics Board said on Monday.

The statistics board said CIF (cost/insurance/freight) imports were down 0.6 percent to 54.6 billion euros in January-December, while exports were down 0.5 percent to 45 billion euros.

The December trade shortfall was 886 million euros, with exports posting a 4.9 percent fall.

The International Monetary Fund, which leads a 5 billion euro precautionary aid deal for Romania, expects the economy to grow 1.5 percent this year. ($1 = 0.7474 euros)

(Reporting by Ioana Patran; Editing by Radu Marinas) Keywords: ROMANIA TRADE/

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