Bulgaria’s industrial sector faces a notable downturn, registering an 8.4% year-on-year decline in seasonally adjusted production for February 2024, as per the latest estimates from Eurostat. This places Bulgaria among the top three countries in the EU experiencing substantial annual decreases, trailing behind Ireland with a dramatic 36% plummet and Belgium with a significant 12.7% downturn.

In contrast to Bulgaria’s challenges, Spain, Slovenia, and Denmark emerged as beacons of growth in the European industrial landscape. Spain leads the charge with a commendable 3.5% surge in industrial production, closely followed by Slovenia with a robust 2.8% increase and Denmark with a noteworthy 2.7% uptick.

Eurostat’s comprehensive dataset unveils broader trends, revealing a 6.4% decrease in industrial production across the euro area and a 5.4% decline in the EU for February 2024 on an annual basis. However, there's a glimmer of hope in the month-on-month comparison, with industrial output showing a modest increase of 0.7% in the EU and 0.8% in the euro area.

January 2024 saw a dip in industrial production, with a 2.7% fall in the EU and a 3% decrease in the euro area. Delving deeper into the industrial segments, February 2024, in comparison to the same period in 2023, witnessed a 7.5% decline in capital goods production, a 3.5% drop in energy output, and a 2.5% decrease in intermediate goods.

Furthermore, the data highlights a decline of 4.7% in non-durable consumer goods production and a 3.9% downturn in durable consumer goods output.