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BNB decreases base interest rate by 0.01%, Bulgaria's gross external debt rises

Photo: BNT

As of October 1, the base interest rate in Bulgaria is 1.81%. The rate has been declining for the 12th consecutive month, this time by 0.01% compared to September 2025. The base interest rate in Bulgaria, which is used to calculate the annual interest on liabilities, remained at zero for many years, but at the end of September 2022, a series of increases began.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian National Bank reported that Bulgaria’s gross external debt (public and private) grew by 20.9% year-on-year to EUR 53.783 billion at the end of July. For comparison, at the end of July 2024, the country's gross external debt stood at EUR 44.480 billion- EUR 9.303 billion lower. The gross external debt now represents 47.9% of the projected GDP, compared to 42.9% of GDP a year earlier.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: BNT



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