Bulgarian industrial production fell the most in at least six years in November, led by lower output in mining and quarrying as demand weakened because of the global economic slowdown, Bloomberg reported.

Production fell 8.8 percent from a year earlier, compared with a revised 2.3 percent drop in October, the statistics office in Sofia said in a statement today. The decrease was the most since at least September 2002, according to Bloomberg data. Industrial sales shrank 11.5 percent on the year, after a revised 5.1 percent fall in October, the office added.

November retail sales fell an annual 1.2 percent, after an increase of 2.8 percent the previous month, the office said in a separate release.

Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest member with per-capita gross domestic product that is 37 percent of the bloc's average, is counting on investment and economic growth to help raise living standards in the former communist country.

The economy expanded 6.8 percent in the third quarter, the slowest pace in three quarters, driven by consumption, investment and agriculture.