Bulgaria’s gross external debt decreased 1.2% on a monthly basis in Feb’24 to EUR 44.4bn, 0.4% above its level in the comparable period of last year. The monthly decline was due to the decrease in banking sectors’ debt to EUR 6.1bn (-6.6% MoM; -5.9% YoY). External debt of the government remained close to the same figure on a monthly basis at EUR 10.8bn (+7.8% YoY). Similarly, other sectors’ debt was approximately flat MoM at EUR 12.0bn (-1.8% YoY) and intercompany lending amounted to EUR 13.5bn (-0.2% MoM; +0.4% YoY). Relative to GDP, Bulgaria’s gross external debt stood at 43.9%, compared to 47.1% a year earlier. *BNB 2024 GDP forecast of EUR 101.2bn.