The main interest rate in Bulgaria jumps; Price ceiling for Russian oil
For the third month in a row, the Bulgarian National Bank sets a higher base interest rate (BPR). For December, it is fixed at the level of 1.30%, or 0.8 percentage points higher than in November. This is also its highest level since October 2009. The hike in Bulgaria’s prime rate comes after six years in which the rate was unchanged at a record low of 0.00%. The cycle has been down since January 2009, and since November this year the rate has been firmly below 1%.
The governments of the low-lying union tentatively agreed on Thursday to cap the price of Russian offshore oil. The idea was to put an upper limit of $60 a barrel, but according to an EU diplomat quoted by Reuters, an adjustment mechanism was also agreed to keep the ceiling 5% below the market price.
With 124 “Yes” votes of the deputies from GERB, DPS and BSP, the return of paper ballots was finally accepted in the sections with over 300 voters. 95 people’s representatives from “Continuing the Change”, “Democratic Bulgaria”, “Vazrazhdane” and “Bulgarian Rise” voted against.
The acting minister for innovation and growth, Alexander Pulev, dismissed two of the members of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) – Valentin Mihov and Vasil Shtonov. They were appointed in 2021 by Kiril Petkov, then in his role as Acting Minister of the Economy. The stated reasons for their removal now include the planned, but unrealized issuance of a liability for nearly BGN 1 billion.
Banks in Bulgaria have been preparing for the country’s entry into the Eurozone for years and continue on this path, but they do not require more political commitments and real legislative work in this direction. Bulgarian banks are appealing for work “on property” and without procrastination, so that the country can still catch the “train” and be able to change its national currency to the euro from January 1, 2024. This is clear from the representatives of the banking sector during the forum “Banks and Business”, organized by “Capital”.
The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation approved a 19 percent increase in the price of natural gas in Bulgaria from December 1. This is the first time in three months that the price of natural gas in Bulgaria has gone up again. This situation after the public supplier “Bulgargaz” submitted a price increase proposal by 18.6% at the beginning of the month, and today it slightly increased to BGN 146.09 per megawatt hour without access, transmission, excise and VAT prices.
President Vladimir Putin’s plan to create a gas hub in Turkey could, in theory, allow Moscow to mask the origin of its fuel there. However, this will hardly be enough to convince Europeans to buy, writes Reuters in its analysis on the subject. In addition, huge investments and time will be required to build such equipment.