BNB Governor: Adopting the euro has raised inflation by only 0.4%

Bulgaria suffered only a small inflation bump when it adopted the euro on January 1 and public support ​for the common currency is now rising quickly, ‌with the war in Iran offering a potential boost, Central Bank Governor Dimitar Radev said in an interview with Reuters.

He added that the impact on inflation was in the range of 0.3% to 0.4%, which is comparable to Croatia’s experience.

The process of adopting the euro proceeded much more smoothly than even the most optimistic expectations predicted. According to a survey conducted in March among members of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, covering representatives of 6,000 firms, some 66% of companies reported no significant problems during the transition.

A total of 91% of lev banknotes and coins have been withdrawn from circulation. Outside the vaults of the Bulgarian National Bank, 2.9 billion leva remain in circulation among households and companies.

Editor: Ivo Ivanov