Bulgaria's economy shrank by a real 5.8 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2009 and 4.8 per cent year-on-year for the first nine months of the year, the country's National Statistics Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate on November 13.

In absolute terms, third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was 17.78 billion leva and nine-month GDP was 48.06 billion leva.

In 2008, the Bulgarian economy grew by 6.8 per cent in the third quarter and seven per cent in January-September, buoyed by the momentum accumulated during years of cheaply-available credit. The country officially entered a recession in the first quarter of 2009.

The biggest decline was posted by the industry, which shrank by 10 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter and 9.8 per cent year-on-year for the first nine months of the year.

Agriculture grew by three per cent in the third quarter over the same period of last year, but shrank by one per cent during the first nine months of 2009.

The services sector posted an annual drop of 5.7 per cent in the third quarter and one per cent for January-September, NSI said in a statement.

Consumption, which was one of the main drivers of economic growth in recent years, was down an annual 10.6 per cent for the quarter and 6.4 per cent in the nine months of the year. Investment was down 22.9 per cent and 18.1 per cent, respectively.

Exports shrank by 13.2 per cent year-on-year for the quarter and 15.3 per cent for January-September, while imports were down by an annual 28.7 per cent and 24.8 per cent, respectively.

The big drop in imports gave Bulgaria a quarterly trade surplus of 760 million leva for the quarter, the first quarterly surplus in five years. For the first nine months of the year, the trade gap was 3.6 billion leva, down by 65 per cent year on year.

NSI's flash estimates, which were launched in 2008, are based on limited data and are subject to revision. The statistics board is scheduled to publish detailed data for third-quarter and nine-month economic growth on December 10.