site.btaCentral Bank: Gross External Debt Down by 2.5% in May Y/Y

Gross external debt1 amounted to EUR 43,008.6 million (42.9% of GDP) at end-May 2024, the Bulgarian National Bank said on Tuesday. It is a decrease by EUR 1,082.9 million (2.5%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 44,091.5 million, 46.9% of GDP).

Short-term liabilities equalled EUR 7,342.7 million (17.1% of the total debt, 7.3% of GDP), dropping by EUR 1,039.3 million  (12.4%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 8,382 million, 19% of the total debt, 8.9% of GDP).

Long-term liabilities totalled EUR 35,666  million (82.9% of the total debt, 35.6% of GDP) at end-May 2024, down by EUR 43.6 million (0.1%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 35,709.5 million, 81% of the total debt, 38% of GDP).

The external liabilities of the central bank stood at EUR 2,020.5 million (2% of GDP), decreasing by EUR 47.7 million (2.3%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 2,068.2 million, 2.2% of GDP).

The external liabilities of other MFIs totalled EUR 6,130.6 million (6.1% of GDP), dropping by EUR 711 million (10.4%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 6,841.6 million, 7.3% of GDP).

General government’s gross external debt totalled EUR 10,399.5 million (10.4% of GDP) at end-May 2024, growing by EUR 918.4 million (9.7%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 9,481.1 million, 10.1% of GDP).

Other sectors’ external debt equalled EUR 11,880.7 million (11.9% of GDP), decreasing by EUR 29.7 million (0.2%) from  end-May 2023 (EUR 11,910.4 million, 12.7% of GDP).

The stock of intercompany lending amounted to EUR 12,577.3 million (12.6% of GDP) at end-May 2024, decreasing by EUR 1,212.9 million (8.8%) from end-May 2023 (EUR 13,790.2 million, 14.7% of GDP). It held the largest share in external debt, equating to 29.2% at end-May 2024, compared with 31.3% in end-May 2023.