Bulgaria reported lower unemployment in March to 4.3% after 4.4 percent in February and 5.8 percent in March 2021, which means that unemployment in Bulgaria is again lower than the EU average, according to Eurostat. Unemployment in the EU fell to 6.2% in March, taking into account seasonal factors compared to 6.3 percent in February and 7.5 percent in March last year. For the same month, euro area unemployment fell to 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent in February and 8.2 percent in March 2021. Eurostat figures show that the number of unemployed in Bulgaria was 138,000 in the reporting month, down from 143,000 in February. A year ago, there were 190,000 unemployed in the country. The number of unemployed youth in Bulgaria in March was 17,000 compared to 18,000 in February and 21,000 in March 2021.

Bulgaria is in advanced direct negotiations with the United States and Egypt for the supply of liquefied natural gas. This was stated by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov during the extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly on the topic of suspended gas supplies from Russia to Bulgaria. If the talks are successful, the Prime Minister hopes that the price of the total gas mix will not exceed that before the suspension of supplies from Russia. He recalled the government's motives for not accepting Gazprom's terms for paying in rubles under a two-tier scheme. "We are currently talking to the Azerbaijani side and their investors to negotiate the possibility of not waiting until June 30, but to receive gas in early June or even late May," he said.

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) suspended the deal for the remaining 4% share of CEZ's assets in Bulgaria. The reasons are "incompleteness and inconsistencies that need to be eliminated" in the two bids submitted by the majority owner - the energy company Eastern European Electric Company B.V. (EEEC), part of Eurohold. They were addressed to CEZ Distribution Bulgaria and CEZ Electro Bulgaria, as the total offer for all remaining shares in the two companies is approximately BGN 10.5 million. According to the opinion of the financial regulator, which must give the green light for the stock exchange transaction, there are several identified problems with the tender offers - both documentary and administrative, as well as financial. The FSC points out the lack of a document to prove the availability of funds to finance the Eurohold proposal. This is necessary because, according to the regulator, the company must prove that it has the necessary funds to acquire the stake in the two bids. 

AES Bulgaria plans to explore options for developing a combination of a solar project with a capacity of about 100 MW and a Battery Storage System (BESS). Apart from that, the company operator of TPP Maritsa East 1 has an idea to build an independent BESS project of 80 MWh in the vicinity of Sofia, which will support the potential and security of the network. This became clear today during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Energy and AES Bulgaria. The document was signed by the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov and the executive director of the company Ivan Tsankov. According to the AES document, Bulgaria is committed to supporting the country's efforts to decarbonise energy and achieve increased ambitions for 2030 and 2050 under the European Green Pact. Knowledge and experience will be provided for the market introduction of innovative technologies that will support the smooth transition to environmentally friendly production and storage of energy, including from renewable sources.

Greek company Gastrade said that its planned floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off the city of Alexandroupolis is set to start supplying neighbouring countries in Southeast Europe (SEE) by the end of 2023, after construction was formally given a kick-off on May 3. Gastrade is also moving to develop a second LNG terminal offshore Alexandroupolis, the Thrace Independent Natural Gas System (Thrace INGS), in the Sea of Thrace, at the northernmost part of the Aegean Sea, Gastrade, in which Bulgarian transmission operator Bulgartransgaz owns a 20% stake. The second Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) facility could potentially extend LNG supply to Moldova and Ukraine. The LNG import terminals are seen as a crucial means to guarantee alternative supplies of gas to SEE from the US, Qatar, Egypt and elsewhere, boosting the region's energy security and independence from Russian gas, at a time when three EU countries, including Bulgaria, have been cut off from Gazprom supplies. The Alexandroupolis FSRU has contracted up to 60% of its technical capacity for converting LNG into natural gas, which totals 5.5 billion cu m per year. Construction is funded by a direct EU grant of EUR 166.7 million. 

The supervision of the activity of banks in Bulgaria maintains the stability of the financial system and protects the interests of depositors, accotding to the annual report for last year of the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, Dimitar Radev. The activities of the banking supervision were aimed at analyzing and assessing the financial condition of the system and the individual banks in order to identify potential risks and take timely supervisory measures to counter them, according to the annual report of the central bank. Due to the continuing uncertainty related to the economic effects of the spread of COVID-19 and the imposed restrictive measures, in January 2021 the BNB management decided to implement the macroprudential measure to capitalize the full volume of banks' profits for 2020 and not distribute of elements of their own capital formed in previous periods. Last year, the individual and aggregate limits for banks' foreign exposures set in March 2020 continued to apply in order to limit credit risk and the risk of concentration in their balance sheets.

Bulgarian car battery manufacturer Monbat said that its standalone net profit decreased to roughly BGN 4.3 million in the first three months of 2021 from BGN 6.2 million in the same period of 2021, as a consequence of higher expenses. Monbat's revenue inched down 1% to BGN 88.9 million in the first three months of the current year. Operating expenses climbed to BGN 84.1 million in the review period from BGN 82.8 million in the first quarter of 2021, as expenses for materials grew nearly 9% to BGN 56.2 million. The cost of goods sold and expenses for hired services were also on the rise. Exports formed 86.8% of the company's total sales revenue in the review period, with Spain emerging as Monbat's largest market in the first quarter of 2021, contributing 8.3% of total export revenue. At the same time, the domestic market accounted for 13.17% of total first-quarter net sales, or some BGN 11.3 million.

The European Commission proposed that the EU suspend imports of Russian oil, exclude more Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and stop broadcasting three Russian televisions. Before the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that the new sanctions are expected to affect the largest Russian bank Sberbank, as well as high-ranking servicemen who committed war crimes in Bucha and the siege of Mariupol. According to her, the sanctions stipulate that three Russian televisions, which were not specifically mentioned, will not broadcast their program in the EU either on air or online. Regarding the ban on the import of Russian oil, Von der Layen noted that this step will not be easy and will be implemented gradually. The EU is expected to suspend imports of Russian crude oil in the next six months and refined oil by the end of the year. Von der Leyen said that Russian President Vladimir Putin must pay a high price for the brutal aggression against Ukraine.

Airbnb Inc. said it expects to announce its first net profit for the year this year after its revenue rose 70% in the last quarter as people continued to book overnight stays in suburban properties, despite hosts raising prices. The San Francisco-based company generated USD 1.5 billion in revenue in the three months to March. Analysts polled by FactSet forecast an average revenue of USD 1.45 billion. Revenues are supported by customers who have booked a record number of nights and the so-called. experiences during the quarter, and from the hosts, who raised the prices of accommodation due to inflation. Airbnb's gross bookings - the value of bookings made through the platform - rose 67% to USD 17.2 billion, a record, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company said it expects second-quarter revenue to be between USD 2.03 billion and USD 2.13 billion, more than Wall Street's average estimate of USD 1.97 billion. Airbnb said early bookings showed high demand for the summer.

China imported more liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2021 than any other country, according to data from Global Trade Tracker and China's General Customs Administration. Before 2021, Japan was the largest importer of liquefied natural gas for decades. China's liquefied natural gas imports averaged 10.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), a 19% increase over 2020. Liquefied natural gas imports account for more than half of total natural gas imports in China and 30% of China's total natural gas supplies in 2021. China began importing LNG in 2006. Since then, it has imported more LNG each year. China is also rapidly expanding its liquefied natural gas import capacity, which is estimated at 13.9 Bcf/day in 2021. By the end of 2022, China's regasification capacity could increase by 2.8 Bcf/day to 16.7 Bcf/day, according to S&P Global Platts. In 2021, China imports LNG from 25 countries. The top six suppliers - Australia, the United States, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Russia - provided 8.9 Bcf/day, or 85% of China's total liquefied natural gas imports.