© SOFIA () – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia this year are likely to put a brake on Bulgaria’s economic growth and keep annual inflation in double digits, the macroeconomic forecast from the EU’s macroeconomic forecast showed Tuesday. Ministry of Finance. The Balkan country has nearly halved its growth forecast for 2022 from 4.8% to 2.6%, seeing annual average inflation under the EU harmonized index at 10.4% from a previous 5.6% this year, the country found. the prognosis. “The military conflict has led to an increase in the prices of energy and important raw materials, which will negatively affect the purchasing power of households,” the ministry said in a statement. The invasion and sanctions against Russia are expected to disrupt global trade and supply chains, hurting Bulgaria’s exports and investment in the country, the ministry said. The country’s tourist revenues will also be severely impacted, as Russian and Ukrainian vacationers are unlikely to visit the Black Sea summer resorts this year. The Ministry of Finance sees economic growth slowly recovering to 2.8% in 2023. The Bulgarian economy grew by 4.2% last year. The ministry expects consumer prices to continue rising in the third quarter and slowing in the last quarter, pushing inflation to 10% by the end of the year, before falling further to 3.1% by 2023.
