BULGARIA'S BUSINESS CLIMATE WORSENS IN MAR 2011

The conditions of making business in Bulgaria deteriorated in March 2011, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) said on Monday. The business climate indicator declined by 4.1 percentage points in the third month of the year compared with February as conditions were unfavourable for firms active in the manufacturing, construction and services sectors.

The industry indicator dropped 3.9 percentage points because of managers' pessimistic forecasts about the business situation over the next six months and their plans for further job cuts.

The uncertain economic environment and the subdued demand were the main drags on business development in the sector, despite the slight increase in orders from abroad. Local entrepreneurs reiterated their February projections for a rise in selling prices. The index for the construction sector lost 1.7 percentage points in monthly terms, because managers were more reserved in their assessments and projections about the sector's development on a six-month horizon.