December 6 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said it expects Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow in real terms and surpass the pre-pandemic level during the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
Applying anti-pandemic measures that only partially restrict economic activity would be crucial in making this prognosis come true, the BNB said in the latest edition of its Economic Review quarterly publication issued on Friday.
Inflation will continue accelerating in the fourth quarter of this year, influenced by both domestic and external factors. It is then expected to slow down on the back of assumed smaller rise in the prices of foods and oil products of international markets compared to the similar period of 2021.
The external demand for Bulgarian goods and services is expected to grow considerably on an annual basis, shadowing global economic recovery, the BNB said.
The surplus of the country's current and capital account is expected to increase in the final quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 compared with the like periods of a year earlier, mostly due to higher revenues from services related to travel.
Bulgaria's GDP grew by an annual 0.4% in the third quarter of 2021, following a 7% increase in the previous quarter, with the gross domestic product totalling 35.6 billion levs ($20.6 billion/18.2 billion euro) at current prices in the third quarter, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate last month.
Bulgaria's consumer prices rose by 6% year-on-year in October after a 4.8% annual increase in September, the NSI said last month.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)