Bulgaria's Q3 GDP Edges Up 0.1% Q/Q, Up 0.5% Y/T
Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) went up by 0.1% on the quarter and by 0.5% on the year in the three months through September, seasonally-adjusted data of the country's statistics office indicated.
The figures were in line with flash estimate data released by the statistics office, NSI, last month.
In the second quarter of 2012, the country's GDP climbed up by 0.3% from the previous three months and expanded by 0.5% year-on-year, according to seasonally-adjusted data.
GDP totalled 21.73 billion levs ($14.5 billion/11.1 billion euro) at current prices in the July-September period, according to preliminary data, NSI said in a statement on Thursday.
Gross value added inched up by 0.1% compared to the second quarter of 2012 and was 0.2% higher compared to the same quarter of 2011.
Agriculture increased its share in the gross value added of the economy by 1.7 percentage points on the year to 11.8% in the third quarter of 2012. The share of industrial sector reached 30.8%, down by 0.3 percentage points. The share of services decreased to 57.4% from 58.8% a year earlier.
Last year Bulgaria's economy expanded by a real 1.7%, compared to an increase of 0.4% in 2010.
The government in Sofia has projected real economic growth of 2.3% in the 2012 state budget. It expects the country's economy to grow by between 2.5% and 4.0% annually in the 2013-2015 period.
In October, the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for Bulgaria's 2012 economic growth to 1.0% from 0.8% projected in May, mostly reflecting stronger domestic demand.