Bulgaria Producer Inflation Eases to 7-Month Low

Producer prices in Bulgaria rose by 8.1% year-on-year in March 2026, slowing from an 8.4% increase in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since August last year, largely driven by a sharply slower price increase for electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (0.8% vs 7.4% in February). In contrast, costs for mining and quarrying surge by 40.4% (vs 46.3%), driven by significantly high inflation for metal ores (70.4% vs 66.5%). Prices for manufacturing production also increased by 4.9% from 2.1% in the previous month, particularly for the manufacture of basic metals (13.4% vs 8.7%) and non-metallic mineral products (7.9% vs 8%). On a monthly basis, producer prices dropped by 0.8% in March, reversing a 0.1% gain in the preceding period.

Producer prices in Bulgaria rose by 8.4% year-on-year in February 2026, slowing from an 11.3% increase in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since September last year, mainly due to a softer price growth in the manufacturing sector (2.1% vs 5.9% in January). The slowdown was driven particularly by sharp declines in prices for the manufacture of food products (-1.2% vs 11.2%) and tobacco products (-0.8% vs -7.6%). Additionally, producer inflation slightly eased for mining and quarrying (46.3% vs 50%) as price growth slowed for other mining and quarrying (5.7% vs 12.8%), while costs remained sharply high for metal ores (66.5% vs 48.5%). Meanwhile, costs continued to increase for electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (7.4% vs 7.2%). On a monthly basis, producer prices edged up by 0.1% in February, easing from a 6.6% gain in the preceding period.

Producer prices in Bulgaria rose by 11.3% from the previous year in January of 2026, the country's first month where it officially used the euro, picking up from the 9.6% increase from the earlier period to reflect the sharpest increase in four months. The rise was led by a 50% surge in costs of mining and quarrying, amid a 91.3% increase in mining of coal and 48.5% surge in mining of metal ores. In turn, producer inflation was softer for manufacturing (5.9%) and for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (7.2%). From the previous month, producer prices jumped by 5.9% in January, the largest increase since September of 2022.