15.07.202608:35:14UTC+00Bulgaria Inflation Eases More Than Expected

Bulgaria’s annual inflation rate slowed to 5.4% in June 2026, down from 6.9% in May and below the preliminary estimate of 5.6%. Price growth eased across most major categories, most notably in food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.4% vs. 4.4% in May), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (6.7% vs. 7.7%), housing and utilities (5.0% vs. 5.2%), furnishings and household equipment (0.4% vs. 0.9%), health (4.3% vs. 4.5%), transportation (16.8% vs. 21.6%), recreation and culture (10.8% vs. 15.7%), education (9.4% vs. 9.1%), and restaurants and hotels (9.6% vs. 9.4%). Meanwhile, deflation in clothing and footwear deepened (-1.0% vs. -0.4%). In contrast, inflation picked up slightly in miscellaneous goods and services (6.1% vs. 5.9%) and in insurance and financial services (2.7% vs. 1.3%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell by 0.9% in June, after remaining flat in May, surpassing the preliminary forecast of a 0.8% decline.