site.btaSeptember Cost of Living at Lv 560 per Household Member

September Cost of Living at Lv 560 per Household Member

Sofia, October 30 (BTA) - The cost of living per member of a household of two adults and two children stood at 560.81 leva, a total of 2,243 leva, at the end of September.

Violeta Ivanova of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), presented the latest data on consumer prices and the cost of living in Bulgaria.

The cost of living trended further down in the third quarter of the year. It was 0.2 per cent down on the second quarter and unchanged from a year earlier.

A review of quarterly inflation rates shows that deflation has not been reversed in a lasting manner yet, although signs of inflation were registered at the beginning of the year. Inflation rates around and slightly above zero are reported year on year, said Ivanova.

The cost of living dropped due to considerably lower oil prices worldwide, the phased cuts in electricity prices by an average of 8.8 per cent in the first nine months of 2015, and the downward trend in the prices of agricultural products on the international commodity exchanges and the domestic market, according to CITUB.

Compared to September 2008, the cost of living rose 19.1 per cent. In the period since the beginning of the crisis the cost of living for a household of four increased by 363 leva, an average of 91 leva per person. The increase for foods was 17.1 per cent and for non-foods 20.8 per cent.

In the same period, the total income per household member rose 43.7 per cent (27.2 per cent in real terms). However, the total income per person still is about two thirds of the necessary cost of living, Ivanova said. She commented that in value terms a total income of 401 leva is very low and cannot ensure a worthy lifestyle even at this rate of increase.