Bulgaria’s annual consumer price index (CPI) recorded 1.2 per cent inflation in September, down from 2.1 per cent a month earlier, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on October 15.
It was the lowest annual inflation figure recorded since March 2021, when year-on-year inflation was 0.6 per cent. The monthly CPI figure shrank by one per cent, the largest monthly deflation figure since June 2012.
In September, the largest drop was recorded in the “entertainment and culture” category, of 13.7 per cent. That grouping accounts for about 6.34 per cent of the CPI basket.
Food prices were 0.6 per cent higher compared to August, while non-food prices fell by 0.6 per cent and services prices were 3.6 per cent lower.
Compared to September 2023, food prices were 2.4 per cent higher, while non-food prices fell by 1.9 per cent and services prices rose by 2.9 per cent.
The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, recorded monthly deflation of 1.1 per cent, while the annual harmonised CPI inflation was 1.5 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent a month earlier.
Food and beverage prices were 2.5 per cent higher in September, on an annual basis, while the price of utilities and housing rose also by 2.5 per cent and transportation costs were 3.3 per cent lower compared to the same month of last year. The three categories account for 49.2 per cent of the harmonised CPI basket.