Economies

The combined profit of Turkey's banks increased from 16.4 billion Turkish Liras in January-March 2021 to 63.2 billion liras in the first quarter of this year, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has said.

That corresponded to a whooping 295 percent increase in the industry's profit on an annual basis.

Turkey's exports rose by 19.8 percent in March from a year earlier to stand at $22.7 billion, official data have shown.

The Turkish lira rose 3.3% against the euro in April due to the latter's weakness.

Gazprom has completely cut off supplies to Bulgargaz and PGNiG because the countries do not pay in rubles for fuel.

This was announced by the holding, quoted by Reuters and TASS.

Deliveries will be suspended until payments are made, the concern added.

Transit through the two countries could be halted in the event of an illegal Russian gas withdrawal, Gazprom warned.

Almost a third slower - compared to the forecast from January - will be the growth of the Bulgarian economy in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the risks of prolonged military conflict, point to further adjustments to downward growth. Instead of 3.8% of GDP, the new expectations are for 2.6%, i.e. adjustment for growth contraction of 1.2 percentage points.

Turkey's exports rose by 19.8 percent on an annual basis to climb to $22.7 billion in March, data from the Trade Ministry have shown.

This marked an all-time high export figure for the month of March, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said, adding that in January and February record monthly export levels were recorded. "Third time in a row, we achieved those record numbers," Muş tweeted.

Energy prices and supply disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine have led to a new record jump of 7.5% in consumer prices in the Eurozone, according to the EU's statistics agency Eurostat.

Inflation in Bulgaria will more than double compared to 2021. From 2.8 percent it will become 6.3%.

This is according to the European Commission's winter economic forecast announced today.

In the inflation table for this year, a higher percentage of our country is projected only for Poland (6.8), Lithuania (6.7) and Slovakia (6.4). Poland is outside the Eurozone.

Orban and Putin used to meet once a year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and this was their 12th reunion, but probably the longest, which at five hours is an unusually lengthy discussion in diplomatic terms, indicating perhaps sharp disagreements behind the scenes.

Finance Minister Asen Vassilev once again expressed confidence, now in an interview with Reuters, that Bulgaria will join the Eurozone in 2024.

Bulgarian Finance Minister: Jan. 1, 2024 remains the date for Bulgaria's Accession to the Eurozone