Bulgaria records 5.3% annual inflation in July

Sofia: Bulgaria’s annual consumer price index (CPI) recorded 5.3 per cent inflation in July, up from 4.4 per cent recorded a month earlier, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on August 15.

The monthly CPI figure recorded 1.7 per cent inflation in July. The statistics body generally does not identify specific factors that drive upward or downward CPI trends, but July 1 is the start of Bulgaria’s 12-month regulatory period for electricity prices.

This year, the utilities regulator increased electricity prices for household consumers by an average of 2.56 per cent.

Food prices rose by 0.1 per cent compared to June, while non-food prices were 0.3 per cent higher and services prices jumped by 5.3 per cent, NSI said.

Compared to July 2024, food prices were 7.5 per cent higher, while non-food prices were 0.4 per cent up and services prices rose by 7.7 per cent.

The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, recorded monthly inflation of 1.4 per cent. The annual harmonised CPI inflation was 3.4 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent a month earlier.

Food and beverage prices were 7.7 per cent higher in July, on an annual basis, while the price of utilities and housing rose by 8.2 per cent and transportation costs were 2.4 per cent lower compared to the same month of last year. The three categories account for 45.7 per cent of the harmonised CPI basket.