site.btaInflation Rate in Bulgaria at 2.1% in December Y/Y

In December 2024, monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 0.4% compared to October, and annual inflation was 2.1% (December 2024 compared to December 2023), the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said here on Wednesday.

In December 2024, the highest increase compared to the previous month was registered in Recreation and culture (+5.9%), Transport (+1.3%), Restaurants and hotels (+0.7%) and Miscellaneous goods and services (+0.6%).

The highest decrease in the prices was recorded in the groups: Clothing and footwear (-1.3%) and Food and non-alcoholic beverages (-0.6%).

The monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was 0.3% and the annual inflation rate was 2.1%. Under the HICP measurement, inflation rate since the beginning of the year was 2.1%, and the annual average inflation rate compared to January-December 2023 was 2.6%. 

The HICP is a comparable measure of inflation of EU countries and is one of the criteria for price stability and for Bulgaria's accession to the euro area, which stipulates that the inflation rate cannot exceed by more than 1.5 percentage points the inflation rate of the three best-performing Member States.

This is the 19th month in a row when annual inflation in Bulgaria is single-digit with a downward trend, according to a NSI report. In June 2023, inflation dropped down to single-digits (8.7%) for the first time since January 2022, when it was 9.1%.