2025.08.1808:30:56UTC+00Bulgaria Inflation Rate Rises Near 2-Year High

In July 2025, Bulgaria experienced an annual inflation rate increase to 5.3%, a rise from June's 4.4%, reaching its peak since November 2023. This escalation is chiefly attributed to the heightened costs of specific categories: food and non-alcoholic beverages climbed to 7.6% from June’s 7.5%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose to 7.6% from 6.9%, housing utilities increased to 8.4% from 6.7%, communication soared to 4.1% from 1.6%, recreation and culture surged to 14.5% from 9.9%, education edged up to 7.9% from 7.2%, and miscellaneous goods and services moved to 3.9% from 3.5%. In contrast, there was a more moderate decline in the costs associated with transport, which improved from -2.3% to -1.9%, and furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance, which eased from -0.9% to -0.7%. Meanwhile, there was a deceleration in inflation for restaurants and hotels, dropping to 8.3% from a previous 9.9%. Notably, on a monthly scale, consumer prices saw an increase of 1.7% in July, rising from the earlier period's 0.4%.