site.btaBusiness Climate in Bulgaria Improves in All Sectors in January

The overall business climate indicator in Bulgaria went up by 3 percentage points, from 19.8 to 22.8, in January 2024 compared to December 2023. An increase has been recorded in all observed sectors: industry, construction, retail trade, and services, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on Tuesday. The indicator dropped by 1.8 percentage points in December 2023, month-on-month.

The composite indicator "Business Climate in Industry" increased in January by 2.6 percentage points due to the improved industrial entrepreneurs’ assessments and expectations about the business situation of the enterprises. Forecasts about production activity over the next three months were also favourable.

The indicator "Business Climate in Construction" went up by 4.6 percentage points as a result of construction entrepreneurs' optimistic assessments and expectations about the business situation of the enterprises. The latest NSI survey shows that the share of managers expecting selling prices in construction to rise in the next three months increased to 26.9%.

The composite indicator "Business Climate in Retail Trade" increased by 2.9 percentage points, mainly due to retailers' improved expectations about the business situation of enterprises in the next six months. Retailers do not foresee any change in selling prices over the next three months.

The business climate in the service sector went up by 2.4 percentage points as a result of managers' optimistic assessments and expectations about the business situation of enterprises. Their views on current and expected service demand are also positive. As to the selling prices in the service sector, the majority of managers expect them to remain at the same level over the next three months.