Bulgaria's business climate worsens in June due to shaky environment
The unstable economic environment proved to be the most significant concern for Bulgarian businesses active in the manufacturing, construction, retail trade and services sectors in June, data by the National Statistics Institute (NSI) shows.The country's business sentiment index dropped by 0.4 percentage points in June compared with May, NSI said.The index for the retail trade sector displayed the largest decline in the period, of 1.7 points, because of managers' negative assessments of the current condition of their companies in light of weakening demand for their products.The industry indicator lost 0.5 points due to the more pessimistic forecasts of local companies about the business situation over the next six months. Nevertheless, the sector started to witness an increase in activities, while local entrepreneurs are still anxious about a potential rise in prices. However, the subdued demand is still a main drag on their business development, which explains the sector's unwillingness to expand its workforce.In the construction sector, the index remained unchanged for the second month in a row. Entrepreneurs are upbeat that the deterioration in construction activities is starting to diminish and count on a rebound in the summer season. At the same time, local construction companies are still experiencing financial hurdles and no increase in prices is expected in the next three months.The business climate index in the services sector registered a slight increase of 0.9 points as managers are satisfied with the current state of their firms. However, demand prospects on a three-month horizon are still pessimistic./Source: Sofia Echo/