The consumer price index in May 2019 compared to April 2019 was 100.1%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 0.1%. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (May 2019 compared to December 2018) has been 1.8% and the annual inflation in May 2019 compared to May 2018 was 3.5%. The annual average inflation, measured by CPI, in the last 12 months (June 2018 - May 2019) compared to the previous 12 months (June 2017 - May 2018) was 3.3%. The harmonized index of consumer prices in May 2019 compared to April 2019 was 100.2%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 0.2%. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (May 2019 compared to December 2018) has been 1.5% and the annual inflation in May 2019 compared to May 2018 was 2.9% . The annual average inflation, measured by HICP, in the last 12 months (June 2018 - May 2019) compared to the previous 12 months (June 2017 - May 2018) was 3.0%. The price index of a small basket in May 2019 compared to April 2019 was 100.0% and the overall increase since the beginning of the year (May 2019 compared to December 2018) has been 103.0%.

The Bulgarian National Bank adopted amendments to Ordinance No. 3 on the Terms and Procedure for Opening of Payment Accounts, for Execution of Payment Transactions and for the Use of Payment Instruments. They are related to the possibility to conclude a framework contract for distance payment services through a qualified electronic signature. The new requirements are in line with the Electronic Document and Electronic Certification Services Act. They will apply to all payment service providers (banks, payment institutions and electronic money companies) by indicating their bank accounts with an international bank account number (IBAN) as well as by applying starting 14 September additions, voted by the European Parliament and the Council, to Directive 2015/2366. These changes relate to technical standards concerning digitization, which establish the identity of the client and the common and secure open standards of communication.

Eurobank Bulgaria, which operates under the Postbank brand has completed the acquisition of local peer Piraeus Bank Bulgaria from Greece's Piraeus Bank. Piraeus Bank Bulgaria will remain a unit of Eurobank Bulgaria until the two banks merge. The operational integration between the two lenders is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Eurobank Bulgaria received clearance to acquire Piraeus Bank Bulgaria from the Commission for Protection of Competition last month. The two lenders will hold a combined market share of 11.5% in terms of retail banking, and 9% regarding wholesale banking, making them the fourth largest player on both segments. Eurobank Bulgaria received preliminary approval from Bulgaria's central bank in March. In November 2018, Eurobank signed an agreement to acquire Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. The value of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria's shares is EUR 75 million and the transaction will have limited effect on Eurobank's common equity tier 1 capital. At the end of April, Piraeus Bank Bulgaria was the country's 9th largest lender by assets, while Eurobank Bulgaria was fifth.

US-based data warehouse virtualization company AtScale will invest USD 25 million in its recently-opened office in Bulgaria's capital Sofia and will look to increase the number of its employees there. The company aims to hire 50 IT specialists in its Sofia office by the end of 2019. In December 2018, AtScale announced a USD 50 million Series D round led by Morgan Stanley, half of which will be steered towards its Sofia office. The decision for the investment comes after a strong start of the year for AtScale, as its net sales revenue grew by 125% in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2019. The investment in the Bulgarian business of the company comes simultaneously with the launch of the latest version of the software AtScale – 2019.1. AtScale entered the Bulgarian market through the opening of its office in Sofia in January 2019. AtScale's clients include JPMorgan Chase, Toyota, Wells Fargo, and GlaxoSmithKline.

Since the beginning of the year, certificates have been issued to 14 projects totaling over BGN 210 mln, which will reveal 1637 new jobs, Economy Ministry reported. These business plans are mainly in the manufacturing, IT, logistics and other sectors. The last such Class A investment certificate was awarded to the high-tech company Acronis Bulgaria LTD. The total value of all tangible and intangible assets that the company will make under the project amounts to BGN 1.2 mln and will be financed entirely by own funds. During the period of this investment, 130 Bulgarian engineers will be employed as a result. VMWare was awarded with a certificate for its project worth BGN 46.1 mln, which will open over 500 new jobs. Since its establishment in 2007, the company has invested more than BGN 350 mln on the Bulgarian market, said VMWare CEO Diana Stefanova. The investment project of Teklas-Bulgaria JSC is for a new expansion in Bulgaria and envisages the construction of a high-tech plant in Vratsa for the production of rubber and plastic compounds for the automotive industry. The amount of the investment is BGN 22 mln and will be financed by own funds opening 500 new jobs with the perspective to reach 1000.

Esseterre Bulgaria, a subsidiary of the American doTerra, is expanding its operations in Dobrich. Today the company opened a second distillery for essential oils, which has doubled its capacity to 210 cubic meters. A total of 50 new jobs have been opened, totaling the number of employees to 200. In addition to the new technical capabilities, Esseterre Bulgaria also opened a brand new office building. In the words of the management, two stages of the development of Esseterre Bulgaria’s business in Dobrich have been completed, yet another third stage is anticipated in order to finish the investment process.

Bulgarian state railways BDZ is expected by the end of 2019 to start a procedure to purchase about 15 locomotives for medium-distance travel and for the delivery of 30 to 50 new carriages, it emerged from statements by BDZ and Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry. BDZ’s statement detailed a three-stage plan to replace its rolling stock. The first stage is up to 2022, the next to 2030 and the third, after 2030. The Transport Ministry said that the indicative value of the investment planned to be initiated by the end of 2019 was just more than EUR 100 million“and is planned in a way that will not hamper the financial position of the company”. In parallel, a program for modernization and repair of the available locomotives and carriages is also underway. Talks are being conducted with the Škoda locomotive manufacturer about possible modernisation of those trains, which will lead to an increase in the maximum speed to 160 km/h and an increase in their operational lifetime by 20 years. A procedure for the capital repair of the available modular trains is in process.

The Council closed the excessive deficit procedure for Spain, confirming that it has reduced its deficit below the EU's 3% of GDP reference value. The Council thereby abrogated its decision of April 2009 on the existence of an excessive deficit in Spain. As a consequence, no member state remains subject to an excessive deficit procedure. Procedures were open for 24 member states in 2010-11 at the height of the euro crisis. Member states are required by article 126 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to avoid excessive government deficits. The procedure is used to support a return to sound fiscal positions. Once it has exited an excessive deficit procedure, a member state is subject to the preventive arm of the EU's fiscal rulebook, the Stability and Growth Pact. Spain's general government deficit amounted to 2.5% of GDP in 2018, down from 3.1% of GDP in 2017. The Commission's spring 2018 economic forecast projects deficits of 2.3% of GDP in 2019 and 2.0% of GDP in 2020, thus remaining below the EU's 3% of GDP reference value over the forecast horizon. The structural balance, which is the general government balance adjusted for the economic cycle and net of one-off and other temporary measures, improved by 0.4% of GDP over the past three years.

Walmart Inc, Target Corp and more than 600 other companies urged U.S. President Donald Trump in a letter to resolve the trade dispute with China, saying tariffs hurt American businesses and consumers. This letter is the latest of many sent to the Trump administration by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, the national campaign against tariffs supported by more than 150 trade groups representing agriculture, manufacturing, retail and tech industries. But it is significant as U.S.-China trade tensions escalate and comes before a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the June 28-29 G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump has said he wants to meet Xi there and will decide on whether to extend tariffs to almost all Chinese imports after that. With less than three weeks to go before talks between Chinese and U.S. leaders, expectations for progress toward ending the trade war are low. Sources have told Reuters there has been little preparation for a meeting even as the health of the world economy is at stake. “We remain concerned about the escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs,” the new letter sent on Thursday said.

China’s industrial output growth slowed to a more than 17-year low of 5% in May, well below expectations, in the latest sign of weakening demand in the world’s second-largest economy as the United States ramps up trade pressure. Fixed-asset investment also grew less than expected, official data showed, reinforcing expectations that Beijing will need to roll out more growth-boosting measures soon. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast industrial output would grow 5.5% from a year earlier, only marginally higher than a 5.4% rise in April. Fixed-asset investment rose 5.6% in January-May from the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, decelerating from 6.1% tipped in the Reuters poll and 6.1% in January-April. Private sector fixed-asset investment, which accounts for about 60 percent of total investment in China, rose 5.3%, compared with a 5.5% rise in the first four months of 2019. Retail sales rose 8.6% in May from a year earlier, picking up from a 7.2% rise in April, which was a 16-year low. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a rebound to 8.1%, but some said it was likely due to higher inflation rather than any turnaround in weak consumer confidence.