Bulgaria’s industrial business climate index declined to 14.1 in October 2026 from 16.9 in September, reaching its lowest level since April. Firms reported a less favorable assessment of the current business situation (15.7 vs 20.5 in September), and their production expectations also weakened both for the next three months (6.0 vs 7.7) and the next six months (12.5 vs 13.4).
Evaluations of total orders deteriorated further (-22.3 vs -20.7), while concerns intensified across several key factors: insufficient domestic demand (26.9 vs 24.8), insufficient foreign demand (24.3 vs 22.4), labor shortages (36.4 vs 31.2), energy shortages (1.5 vs 1.2), competition from imports (10.8 vs 10.7), and financial difficulties (5.8 vs 4.8). At the same time, selling price expectations increased markedly (16.5 vs 12.5).
In contrast, employment expectations for the next three months improved and remained positive, rising to 1.7 from 0.9 in September.
