With the caveat that the National Statistical Institute (NSI) does not make forecasts, the Chairman of the NSI Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Atanasov expressed in an interview with BTA an expectation of an increase in inflation in Bulgaria due to the increase in bread and electricity prices.
"In the first days of the year we see that bread producers and restaurateurs are already raising prices in connection with the increase in VAT for the products they produce, we could also expect an increase in inflation in the country. Moreover, bread and derived products have a large weight in the consumer basket. The change in the price of electricity will certainly have an impact on increasing inflation," said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Atanasov.
Four new goods and services will be included in the consumer basket of inflation, the prices of which will be monitored by the NSI this year, and eight others will be removed from it. The Chairman of the NSI announced that the classification used in calculating inflation in the European Union - COICOP - will change from 2026, and will better reflect modern consumption patterns, including new categories of goods and services. In this way, statistical data will become more relevant and applicable both for economic analyses and for informing the public and making decisions at the political level, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Atanasov.