2018.02.0806:18:00UTC+00Bulgaria's Industrial Production Grows At Steady Pace

Bulgaria's industrial production growth held steady at the end of the year, preliminary figures from the National Statistical Institute showed Thursday.

Industrial production climbed a working-day-adjusted 2.0 percent year-over-year in December, the same rate of increase as in November.

Manufacturing production advanced 5.2 percent annually in December, while mining and quarrying production contracted by 5.2 percent. Output in the utility sector also registered a decline of 5.1 percent.

Month-on-month, industrial production rose 0.7 percent from November, when it gained by 0.8 percent.

The agency also revealed that construction output declined 4.1 percent annually and by 3.0 percent monthly in December.

In an another report, the statistical office announced that retail sales, excluding automobile trade increased at a faster pace of 4.9 percent yearly in December, after a 3.8 percent rise in the preceding month.

Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco grew 8.4 percent and those of non-food products, except fuel climbed by 7.9 percent.

Monthly, retail sales went up 0.5 percent in December, following a 0.6 percent increase in the preceding month.