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Bulgaria& #039;s new construction, sales bounce back

In a sign that the Bulgarian economy has started to curb the decline, sales revenue surged by 5.2% month-on-month in April, with retail and wholesale gaining 3% and 6.7%, respectively, showed the latest numbers of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). On the year, however, sales diminished by more than 10%. New construction in the fourth month of the year inched up by 1.2% compared to March, marking the third consecutive month of growth, even though smaller than the over 7% rise registered in March. The annual contraction added up to 8.9%, pressed by slumping building construction, which shed nearly 14%. On the other hand, infrastructure projects rebounded by almost 3%. At the same time, industrial output sank by 4.7% on the month and a precipitous 20% on the year. A few individual sectors made hefty gains, with the tobacco industry scaling up production by 50%. At the other end of the table, electricity and heat generation as well as fuels shrank by more than 25% compared with the...