March 30 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's business sentiment remained unchanged in March after it improved slightly in February, the country's statistical office said on Thursday.
Deteriorations in the business climate were registered in the industry, retail trade and service sector, offset by a brighter sentiment in construction, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a monthly business climate survey.
The composite indicator in retail trade dropped by 1.3 percentage points versus the previous month, showing the strongest decline. The decrease came as retailers now see the business situation of enterprises as "satisfactory" after they assessed it as “good” previously. Additionally, a higher proportion of retailers now forecast a rise in the selling prices over the next three months. Retailers, however, have positive opinions about the volume of sales over the last three months and expectations over the next three months.
The composite indicator in services, excluding trade, went down by 1.2 percentage points due to the more unfavourable managers’ assessments about the present business situation. Their opinions about the present demand for services are also more reserved. However, expectations over the next three months have improved. According to the inquiry, 15.5% of the managers expect the selling prices in the service sector to increase over the next three months.
In industry, the composite indicator slipped by 0.8 percentage points because of deteriorated expectations about the business situation over the next six months. At the same time, their forecasts about the production activity over the next three months are reserved. Regarding selling prices, 4.0% of the managers foresee a rise over the next three months.
On the bright side, the composite indicator in construction increased by 4.0 percentage points in March thanks to improved assessments and expectations about the business situation of the enterprises. The inquiry registered a rise in new orders inflow over the last month, while the forecasts about the activity over the next three months remain optimistic. About 75% of the enterprises see the uncertain economic environment as the main factor limiting the business development. As many as 32% of them expect the selling prices to rise in the next three months.