The general index of the business climate in Bulgaria in December remains unchanged from November, the National Statistical Institute said on Tuesday. A slight improvement of the economic environment is registered in industry and services while a worsening is reported in construction and retail trade.

The index component which describes the business climate in industry increased by 0.9 points over the month. This is due to somewhat more optimistic perceptions of business persons about the current and future condition of their enterprises.

Perceptions about production activity have also improved. The level of supply orders in recent months has been close to the long-term average value, even exceeding it by 1.1 points in December.

As before, the main problems facing business persons active in industry are the insecure economic environment and low demand. The negative impact of the insecure environment remains high above the usual level of the last ten years, at 21.3 points.

The index component which describes the business climate in construction in December is 3.8 points lower than in November due to the growing pessimism of construction entrepreneurs about the current condition of their enterprises and their more limited expectations of the following six months.

They perceive the current activity in the sector as lower than a month ago and expect it to remain unchanged in the next three months. The insecure economic environment and financial difficulties remain the principal problems in the construction sector over the last month.

The index component which describes the business climate in retail trade in December fell by 1.1 points from November due to more limited expectations of business persons about the condition of their enterprises in the next six months.

The index component which describes the business climate in the services sector grew by 2.2 points, primarily due to more positive perceptions of business leaders about the condition of their enterprises in the following six months. The survey records a decline in the adverse impact of economic legislation weaknesses on the business climate in the sector. Business persons still expect service prices to fall in the next three months.

Source: BTA