Bulgaria's business climate got worse in September. The overall indicator dropped to 15.3%, down 1.3 points from 16.6% in August, the National Statistical Institute says.

Three of the four sectors tracked fell. Construction dropped the most, by 4.7 points, followed by services, down 1.6 points, and retail, down 0.8 points.

Only industry did better, up 0.6 points. The statistics institute says business owners rated the current state of their companies more highly.

Builders gave lower marks for both current conditions and their outlook. Shop owners were negative on both counts too. In services, the drop came from managers' cautious outlook for business over the next six months.

In August, the overall indicator stayed roughly at July's level. Back then, ratings fell in industry, construction and retail, while services improved.