site.btaBusiness Climate Worsens in March

In March 2022, Bulgaria's total business climate indicator decreased by 1.4 percentage points month-on-month as a result of the unfavourable business climate in the industry, retail trade and service sector, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported here on Tuesday.

In industry, the composite business climate indicator decreased by 7.1 percentage points as a result of the reserved assessment and expectations of entrepreneurs about the business situation of their companies in the next six months. The NSI inquiry also registers more pessimistic forecasts about production activities over the next three months.

In construction, the composite business climate indicator remainеd unchanged compared to February due to construction entrepreneurs’ favourable expectations about the condition of their enterprises in the next six months. The NSI inquiry recorded an increase in the number of late paying clients. As regards the selling prices in construction, 53.2 per cent of the managers expect some increase over the next three months.

In retail trade, the composite business climate indicator decreases by 7.8 percentage points due to the reserved retailers’ expectations about the business situation of the enterprises over the next six months. Their forecasts about the volume of sales and orders over the last three months and their expectations for the next three months are moderate.

In the service sector, the composite business climate indicator decreased by 2.1 percentage points as a result of the unfavourable managers' assessments and expectations about the business situation of the enterprises over the next six months. The managers are moderate in their assessments about the current and future demand for services. A total of 23.6 per cent of the managers expect some increase of selling prices over the next three months.