Balance of trade

In September, Bulgaria's balance of payments remained positive and marked an improvement for the first nine months of the year, showed data of the Bulgarian Central Bank (BNB).

The current and capital accounts balance of Bulgaria was positive in September and amounted to EUR 417.1 M, given a surplus of EUR 292.2 M exactly a year ago.

Both exports and imports of Bulgaria to third countries fell in the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period of 2015, statistics show.

Exports amounted to BGN 9.5161 B. The main trade partners included Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, China, Russia, and the United States, accounting for 49.7% of the exports to non-EU countries.

Bulgarian exports to the EU grew by 4.3% in the first seven months of this year, compared to the same period of 2015, while imports from other member states dipped slightly, statistics show.

Exports amounted to BGN 17.4966 B. The main trade partners included Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece and France, accounting for 64.7% of the exports to EU member states.

BELGRADE - Exports have become the main factor of Serbia's economic growth, with household spending playing an increasing role in it, says Lazar Sestovic, the chief World Bank economist for Serbia.

Exports have been excellent over the past seven months, he told a press conference.

In July, Bulgaria's balance of payments remained positive and marked a solid improvement for the first seven months of 2016, showed BNB data, cited by BNR.

The current account balance and the capital account balance were positive in July and amounted to Euro 635.7 M, compared to a surplus of Euro 566 M in July 2015.

Bulgaria exported BGN 44.949 M worth of goods last year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI)'s final data shows.

The figure constitutes an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.

The highest growth in exports was observed in March (24.4%), the largest fall having been in September (7.5%).

Bosnia recorded a reduction in its trade deficit - the gap between imports and exports - in 2015, generating hope that the country is becoming less dependent on imports.

Foreign trade figures for January released at the beginning of this week have revealed that the deficit has decreased 13.4 percent from $4.343 billion to $3.762 billion. In parallel with the declining foreign trade this year, the current account deficit is expected to continue shrinking.

An unexpected drop in German industrial production in December, as well as a decline in exports, cast a shadow over the outlook for Europe's biggest economy, analysts said on Feb. 9.

Bulgaria's trade deficit for the first 10 months of 2015 has decreased compared with the same period of the 2014, as exports rose faster than imports, according to statistical data released by the country's central bank.