Bulgaria's business sentiment index rose by 2.8 percentage points from the previous month in May, after increasing by 3.2 points in April, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) said.
In May the industrial sub-index remained almost unchanged on the month. Managers were slightly more positive in their assessment of production activity in the sector and expected prices to increase in the next three months.
The sub-index in construction gained 10 percentage points from April as managers shifted their assessment of the present business situation to 'satisfactory'. Overall, they expect a certain decrease in prices over the following three months.
The retail sub-index increased by 10.3 percentage points on the month in May, reflecting the managers' more positive assessment and more optimistic expectations regarding the business situation in the sector. The uncertain economic situation remains a major problem for retail business. Overall, managers expect prices to increase in the next three months.
The business climate gauge in the services sector registered an increase by 1.8 percentage points in May, due to the managers' more positive assessment of the current business situation. They expect prices to remain flattish over the next three months.