site.btaBulgaria's Trade Deficit Falls to EUR 180.3 Mln in April Y/Y

Bulgaria's trade balance for April was negative at EUR 180.3 million, compared to a deficit of EUR 237.3 million in April 2022, the Bulgarian National Bank said Friday.

For January-April 2023, Bulgaria’s trade balance was negative at EUR 731.5 million (0.8% of GDP) against a deficit of EUR 1.238 billion (1.5% of GDP) for the same period in 2022.

Exports of goods amounted to EUR 3.485 billion in April 2023, down by EUR 265.8 million or 7.1% compared to April 2022 (EUR 3.751 billion). In January-April, exports totaled EUR 15.027 billion (16.6% of GDP), up by EUR 820.3 million or 5.8% compared to the same period in 2022 (EUR 14.207 billion, 16.8% of GDP).

Imports of goods amounted to EUR 3.666 billion in April 2023, down by EUR 322.8 million (8.1%) from April 2022 (EUR 3.988 billion). In January-April 2023, imports totaled EUR 15.758 billion (17.4% of GDP), up by EUR 312.9 million or 2% from the same period in 2022 (EUR 15.445 billion or 18.3% of GDP).

The balance on services was positive at EUR 417.9 million in April 2023 against a positive balance of EUR 360.1 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, services recorded a surplus of EUR 1.503 billion (1.7% of GDP) against a positive balance of EUR 1.288 billion (1.5% of GDP) in the same period of 2022.

Bulgaria’s current and capital account recorded a surplus of EUR 454.7 million in April 2023, against a surplus of EUR 214.2 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, the current and capital account was positive at EUR 450.7 million (0.5% of projected GDP) against a negative balance of EUR 904.3 million (1.1% of GDP) in January-April 2022.

The current account balance was positive at EUR 320.5 million in April 2023, against a positive balance of EUR 143.5 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, the current account was positive at EUR 101.9 million (0.1% of GDP) against a negative balance of EUR 580.7 million (0.7% of GDP) for the same period in 2022.

The capital account recorded a positive balance of EUR 134.2 million in April 2023, compared with a positive balance of EUR 70.7 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, the capital account was positive at EUR 348.9 million (0.4% of GDP), compared with a negative balance of EUR 323.5 million (0.4% of GDP) in January-April 2022.

The financial account recorded a negative balance of EUR 753 million, compared with a positive balance of EUR 664.3 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, the financial account was negative at EUR 676.5 million (0.7% of GDP), compared with an outflow of of EUR 41.8 million (0.05% of GDP) for the same period in 2022.

The balance of direct investment was negative at EUR 44.5 million against a positive balance of EUR 247.9 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, direct investment recorded an outflow of EUR 1.706 billion (1.9% of GDP) against a negative balance of EUR 960.3 million (1.1% of GDP) for the same period of 2022.

According to preliminary data, the net flows of foreign direct investment presented according to the directional principle recorded a positive value of EUR 1.854 billion in January-April 2023, growing by EUR 727.5 million (64.5%) from January-April 2022, when the positive value was EUR 1,127.3 million or 1,3% of GDP. Foreign investment in Bulgaria recorded a net inflow of EUR 46 million in April, compared with an outflow of EUR 241.4 million in April 2022.

Direct investment abroad increased by EUR 1.5 million in April 2023, compared with an increase of EUR 6.5 million in April 2022. In January-April 2023, totaled EUR 148.2 million, compared with EUR 167 million for the same period in 2022.