Bulgaria’s gross external debt decreased by EUR 302.5mn (0.8% monthly drop) to EUR 37.1bn in April 2013, preliminary central bank data showed. Total debt has shrunk 1.1% compared to its level from end-2012. In annual terms, Bulgaria's total foreign debt inched up 1.4% to 89.9% of GDP at end-April, down from revised 92.4% in the same period of last year
Total long-term external debt inched up 1.1% y/y, making up 65.6% of total gross external debt. The short-term debt rose by 2.1% y/y and accounted for 24.3% of the total.
The banks’ external indebtedness increased 8.3% compared to a year earlier but shrank by 5.4% compared to end-2012 as short-term debt fell by 7.2% and the long-term liabilities inched down 0.2%. Public external debt has decreased by 6.5% since the start of the year and stood at 7.6% of GDP as of end-April. The external debt of the non-banking companies declined by 0.3% y/y and 0.1% ytd at end-April.
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