BUSINESS CLIMATE - STATISTICS

Sofia, January 26 (BTA) - The aggregate business climate in
January was up 1.3 percentage points on December 2006 thanks to
the favourable business situation in construction, the National
Statistical Institute said, quoting a business survey.

The composite Business Climate in Industry Index remained at the
high levels reached last summer. Compared to December, there is
a slight improvement of the assessment of managers in respect
of the manufacturing activity, reflecting more orders from
abroad. At the same time, security in respect of production for
domestic clients is worsening and the expectations for the
production activity in the coming three months are more
moderate. Moderation also domantes in managers' expectations
about the employment. About one in five managers expect an
increase in prices.

Due to more optimistic assessments of the ongoing business and
expectations about the next six months, the Business Climate in
Construction Index went up 7.3 percentage points in January. The
managers in this sector are optimistic about the coming three
months and expect moew new orders in the next six months. About
one-third of companies in the construction business expect
prices to go up.

The business situation in retail trade and the services sector
remained favourable and the composite Business Climate Index
remained at last month's level. In retail trade, managers are
optimistic about the volume of sales and the expected orders to
suppliers in the next three months. In the services sector,
managers have more moderate expectations. BTA

Source: BTA