Bulgaria's Trade Deficit Shrinks by Over 30% in August Amid Mixed Economic Signals

Bulgaria's trade deficit in August fell by over 30% year-on-year, reaching 287.8 million euros compared to 413.8 million euros during the same month last year. However, for the first eight months of this year, the deficit rose by just over 42%, amounting to 2.953 billion euros, up from 2.077 billion euros for the same period in 2023, according to preliminary data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

Exports of Bulgarian goods in August totaled 3.500 billion euros, reflecting an increase of 54.8 million euros (1.6%) compared to the previous year. From January to August, exports reached 28.514 billion euros, a decline of 709.6 million euros (2.4%) year-on-year from 29.224 billion euros. In contrast, exports for the first eight months of 2023 saw a sharper contraction of 7.5%.

Imports of goods for August were valued at 3.788 billion euros, decreasing by 71.2 million euros (1.8%) compared to August 2023, which recorded 3.859 billion euros. Over the first eight months, imports totaled 31.467 billion euros, showing a modest increase of 165.7 million euros (0.5%) compared to the same period in 2023, when imports had decreased by 7.8%.

The central bank indicates that the current and capital account is currently positive, amounting to 1.193 billion euros, with a surplus of 283.2 million euros reported in August of the previous year. For the first eight months of this year, the current account shows a positive balance of 2.841 billion euros, compared to a surplus of 1.868 billion euros for January to August 2023.

In August, the current account balance stood at 1.070 billion euros, significantly higher than the positive balance of 219.2 million euros recorded in August 2023. For the first eight months, the current account remained positive at 1...