Page 28 - bne IntelliNews Southeastern Europe Outlook 2025

Mining output dropped by 10% y/y, after expanding by a revised 30.9% y/y in September. Utilities output climbed by 13% y/y in October, following a revised 13.3% y/y rise in September.
At the same time, Bulgaria’s producer price index (PPI) decreased by 1.3% y/y and moved down by 1.4% compared to the previous month in October, according to statistics office data.
The annual decrease in the PPI was influenced by a fall in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector that saw a 11.1% y/y drop.
Conversely, the manufacturing industry posted a 0.4% y/y rise in October. The mining industry moved up by 26.5% y/y.
In the manufacturing sector, significant declines were observed in the manufacture of leather and leather products (10.5%), pharmaceuticals (5.6%), chemicals (4.8%) and wood and wood products (4.7%).
By contrast, notable price rises were seen in the manufacture of furniture (9.4%), the repair and installation of machines and equipment (10.9%), manufacture of coke and plastic products (8%) and automobiles, trailers and semi-trailers (7%).
The PPI on the domestic market decreased by 3% m/m in October and by 3.1% y/y. On the non-domestic market, the PPI increased by 1.1% m/m and 1.4% y/y in October 2024.
2.4 Macroeconomy – Croatia
Key economic figures and forecasts
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024F
Nominal GDP (EUR bn) 52.2 54.9 50.7 58.3 67.6 78.0 86.5
Real GDP (% y/y) 2.9 3.1 -8.3 12.6 7.3 3.3 3.7
Unemployment rate (avg, %) 8.5 6.6 7.5 7.6 7.0 6.1 4.8
Consumer prices (avg, % y/y) 2.0 2.0 0.8 2.1 8.6 8.4 3.0
Consumer prices (eop, % y/y) 1.2 0.8 -0.7 5.5 13.1 4.5 3.4
General budget balance (% of GDP) 0.4 0.7 -7.2 -7.4 0.1 -0.7 2.6
Public debt (% of GDP) 72.6 70.4 86.1 77.5 67.9 61.8 57.3
Current account balance (% of GDP) 1.1 2.5 -1.3 0.5 -2.8 1.1 -2.2
Official FX reserves (EUR bn) 14.2 16.7 18.0 21.5 20.8 1.5 1.6
Gross foreign debt (% of GDP) 80.8 72.7 79.8 77.9 73.9 84.4 75.2 Source: DZS, HNB, European Commission, ECB, IMF, World Bank
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