Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bulgaria came in at EUR 895 million for the first 11 months of 2010, recording a sharp fall compared with a year earlier, preliminary data of the central bank showed on Friday. In November alone, FDI in the country stood at EUR 50 million, compared with an outflow of EUR 42 million in October.

The country's economy ministry, which had come up with a forecast for EUR 2 billion in foreign investments for 2010, stated the decrease in investments was due to the lower inflows secured by the real estate, trade and finance sectors.

BNB's figures also showed that the country's trade deficit more than doubled to EUR 420 million in November, triggered by a considerable growth in imports, which surged 39% on the year to EUR 1.86 billion.