site.btaNational Economy: Latest Data

July 6 (BTA) - The National Statistical Institute on Monday published wide-ranging data on the Bulgarian economy for the first few months of 2020. The report includes information on the country's gross domestic product, current account, foreign trade, industrial production, consumer confidence, prices, loans, and employment.

Gross domestic product

In the first quarter of 2020, Bulgaria's GDP amounted to 25,575 million leva at current prices, according to early estimates. Per-capita GDP was 3,678 leva. Seasonally adjusted data show that GDP grew by 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 and by 0.3 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.

Current account

In April 2020, Bulgaria's current account ran a surplus of 186.5 million euro, compared with a deficit of 249.7 million euro in April 2019. Between January and April 2020, the current account ran a surplus of 625.7 million euro (1.0 per cent of GDP) compared with a deficit of 19.8 million euro (0.03 per cent of GDP) in January-April 2019.

Foreign trade

In April 2020, Bulgaria's foreign trade registered a surplus of 120.2 million euro, compared with a deficit of 222.1 million euro in April 2019. Between January and April 2020, foreign trade recorded a deficit of 95.1 million euro (0.1 per cent of GDP), compared with a deficit of 569.3 million euro (0.9 per cent of GDP) in January-April 2019.

Exports amounted to 1,924.7 million euro in April 2020, down by 18.0 per cent compared with April 2019. Between January and April 2020, exports stood at 9,043.9 million euro (13.9 per cent of GDP), down by 3.5 per cent compared with January-April 2019.

Imports amounted to 1,804.5 million euro in April 2020, decreasing by 29.8 per cent compared with April 2019. Between January and April 2020, imports totalled 9,139 million euro (14.1 per cent of GDP), falling by 8.1 per cent compared with January-April 2019.

Industrial production

In April 2020, the industrial output of the national economy changed, year on year, as follows: manufacturing industries - down by 18.5 per cent; electricity, heat and gas production and distribution - down by 10.9 per cent; and extractive industries - up by 9.3 per cent. The numbers are based on working-day-adjusted data.

In the construction sector, the April 2020 output decreased by 15 per cent compared with April 2019. In building construction, the output dropped by 17.3 per cent, and in civil engineering construction, it fell by 11.7 per cent.

Consumer confidence

In April 2020, the general consumer confidence index dropped by 17.4 percentage points compared with January 2020. This was due to lower consumer confidence both in rural areas (down by 18.5 points) and urban areas (17.0 points). In June 2020, consumer confidence in industry rose by 7.4 percentage points compared with May 2020.

Prices

In May 2020, the harmonized index of consumer prices increased by 1.0 per cent compared with May 2019. The most significant price rise was registered for foods and soft drinks, up by 6.0 per cent. The most significant price fall was observed in transport, down by 8.6 per cent.

In the first quarter of 2020, home purchase prices increased by 4.7 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2019.

Producer prices on the domestic market dropped by 1.6 per cent in May 2020 compared with May 2019. Producer prices in the extractive industries dropped by 5.3 per cent, and in the manufacturing industries they dropped by 3.4 per cent. In electricity, heat and gas production and distribution, producer prices rose by 1.4 per cent.

Loans

In May 2020, loans to non-financial corporations and households amounted to 58,727 million leva. Loans to non-financial corporations increased by 2.9 per cent compared with May 2019 (3.2 per cent annual increase in April 2020), reaching 34,394 million leva (27.1 per cent of GDP) at the end of May 2020. Loans to households were 24,334 million leva (19.1 per cent of GDP) at the end of May 2020.

Employment

In the first quarter of 2020, Bulgaria had 3,107,200 employed persons aged 15 and over, including 1,667,100 men and 1,440,100 women. The share of employed persons among the population aged 15 and over was 52.4 per cent (58.7 per cent among men and 46.7 per cent among women).

The country had 148,900 unemployed people in the first quarter of 2020, including 57.8 per cent men and 42.2 per cent women. The unemployment rate was 4.6 per cent (4.9 per cent among men and 4.2 per cent among women). The unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points compared with the first quarter of 2019. RI/VE

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