Bulgaria's aggregate price level recorded a third consecutive annual decline as the consumer price index went down by 1.4% y/y in October 2013 after falling by 1.6% in September and 0.7% in August, data published by the statistics office showed. Low domestic demand, coupled with two administratively imposed cuts in the price of electricity this year (by an average of 7% in March and 4.3% in August) and lower international energy prices were the main reasons for the consistently falling price level in the country.
The electricity price declined by 11.1% in October. As a result, the housing and utilities sub-index of the CPI also decreased by 6.6% y/y. Healthcare and transport prices dropped by 2.2% y/y and 2.5% y/y respectively. Meanwhile, the price of food inched up 0.3% y/y in October, mainly due to vegetables, the prices of which traditionally increase in the autumn. Prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco were up 0.9% y/y.
In monthly terms, consumer prices rose 0.5% in October after inching up 0.1% the previous month, driven by the rising cost of food during the autumn season.
The statistics office also informed that the EU-harmonised CPI inflation (HICP), used as a benchmark for the euro adoption, dropped 1.1% y/y in October, while advancing 0.2% on a monthly basis.
| Bulgaria's CPI, y/y, % | Weight in the basket, % | Jul-13 | Aug-13 | Sep-13 | Oct-13 |
| Total | 100 | 0.5 | -0.7 | -1.6 | -1.4 |
| Food | 36.4 | 3 | 1.2 | -0.3 | 0.3 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 5.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Clothing and footwear | 3.8 | -0.6 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 17.8 | -3.4 | -5.7 | -6.1 | -6.6 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance | 3.6 | -0.4 | 0.7 | -0.5 | -1.0 |
| Health | 6.4 | -3.7 | -3.7 | -3.1 | -2.2 |
| Transport | 8 | -0.5 | -1.9 | -3.2 | -2.5 |
| Communication | 5.4 | -0.4 | -0.5 | -0.3 | 0.4 |
| Recreation and culture | 4.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -2.7 | -3.8 |
| Education | 0.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| Restaurants and hotels | 5.1 | 4 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.8 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Source: statistics office |
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