Year-on-year inflation in Bulgaria rose to 13.2 per cent in February, according to preliminary data released by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) on March 12 2008. The figure is the highest recorded in Bulgaria since June 1998.

February inflation was 1.1 per cent, up from 1.5 per cent a month earlier. Food prices once again were the main driver of inflation, rising by 1.7 per cent for the month. Services prices went up by 0.5 per cent and non-food goods were 0.8 per cent higher.

Harmonised inflation, the figure calculated by the statistics board for comparison with inflation in the EU, was 1.0 per cent in February and 12.2 per cent year-on-year, compared with 1.5 per cent for the month and 11.7 per cent year-on-year in January.

The Cabinet targets reducing harmonised inflation figure to 4.5 per cent for the year.

Officials have blamed last year's drought and floods for the rising food prices, which grew by 21.8 per cent over the previous 12 months, causing inflation to overshoot the Government's original 4.4 per cent target for 2007. End-year inflation was 12.5 per cent.