Bulgaria’s business climate improved slightly in July, with the strongest positive movement recorded in the construction sector, while services reported a decline, according to data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
The overall business climate indicator rose by 0.7 points compared with June, increasing from 16.1% to 16.8%. The improvement was mainly driven by more optimistic assessments among entrepreneurs in industry and construction, while confidence in the services sector weakened.
In industry, the indicator increased by 1.1 points, reaching 17.2% compared with 16.1% a month earlier. Industrial companies reported more positive views of their current business situation, although they noted a decline in new orders received over the past three months. Expectations for production activity in the coming quarter remained negative.
Average capacity utilization in the industrial sector stood at 72.9% in July, down 2.4 percentage points from April.
Businesses in the sector continued to identify the uncertain economic environment and labor shortages as their main challenges. Regarding prices, 81% of industrial managers said they expect no change over the next three months.
