Sofia - A wave of price hikes likely to further fuel already rampant inflation hit Bulgaria from the start of July on Tuesday, shocking the poorest European Union nation.

Local media widely described the hikes as a "price shock," reporting 13 to 14 per cent increases in the cost of electricity and central heating.

That would really kick in with the arrival of the cold season, unlike the between 9 and 30 per cent price hike in public transport.

The inflation rate in Bulgaria reached a whopping 15 per cent year-on-year in May and 4.7 per cent since the start of 2008, threatening to shatter the envisaged annual target of 6.9 per cent.

The inflation was largely fuelled by soaring energy prices, but also by food, a major share in an average Bulgarian consumer basket, which was in May 25.4 per cent more expensive than a year earlier.

Protests and strikes spurred by persistent poverty in Bulgaria, where the average wage still floats around 500 leva (400 dollars) marked 2007, the first year of the Balkan country's EU membership. (dpa)