Bulgaria annual inflation falls to 10.1% in May
Bulgaria’s annual consumer price index (CPI) recorded 10.1 per cent inflation in May 2023, down from 11.6 per cent a month earlier, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on June 14.
It was the fifth consecutive monthly drop in annual inflation recorded, which continued to climb down since year-on-year CPI inflation peaked at a 24-year high of 18.7 per cent in November.
For the month of May, the CPI recorded 0.1 per cent deflation, the first time in two years that the index shrank on a monthly basis, according to NSI data. Bulgaria’s last month with deflation was June 2021, when NSI reported a decline of 0.2 per cent in the monthly CPI.
Food prices in May were 0.5 per cent higher compared to the previous month, while non-food prices fell by 0.2 per cent and services prices were one per cent lower.
Compared to May 2022, food prices were 14.4 per cent higher, while non-food and services prices rose by 6.5 per cent and nine per cent, respectively.
The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, also shrank on a monthly basis in May, recording 0.2 per cent deflation, while the annual harmonised CPI inflation was 8.6 per cent, down from 10.3 per cent a month earlier.
Food and beverage prices were 14.9 per cent higher in May, on an annual basis, while the price of utilities and housing increased by 10.1 per cent and transportation costs were 5.8 cent lower compared to May 2022. The three categories account for 48.9 per cent of the harmonised CPI basket.
(Consumer price index changes since May 2022. Bars illustrate the annual CPI inflation and lines show the monthly CPI inflation. Graphic: NSI)
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