Bulgaria's energy regulator approved on Thursday a 9.87% quarterly reduction in the price of domestic natural gas in the first quarter of the year to BGN 656.47 per 1,000 cubic metres, VAT and excise tax excluded. The price includes BGN 7.58 per cubic meter of deferred income from previous periods. The reduction is slightly higher than the 9.30% decrease sought by gas monopoly Bulgargaz.
The reduction was a result from the 20% price cut in the gas supply deal with the Russian Gazprom from 1 January 2013, combined with weakened US dollar and lower prices of petroleum derivatives.