May 8, 2024
Hungary Industry Shrinks More Than Expected After Brief Upswing
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- Hungary’s industry is struggling to recover, data showed Wednesday, leaving the domestic consumer sector to drive growth and provide badly-needed support for public finances.
Industrial production declined a workday-adjusted 2.8% in March compared to a year earlier, the Budapest-based statistics office said. Economists had forecast a 0.6% annual decline, following an upwardly revised 1.8% year-on-year growth in February. Month-on-month, production dropped 3%.
Hungary’s manufacturing industry, the country’s growth driver in the past decade, has been facing the lasting effects of the energy crisis and weaker-than-expected demand from its main export markets in the European Union.
All major sectors of the Hungarian industry contracted in the latest period, with the heavily-weighted automotive and electrical industries exerting the biggest downward pressure, the statistics office said.
Read more: Hungary Retail Sales Unexpectedly Jump in Boost to Ailing Budget
In a more positive sign for the domestic economy, March retail sales rose by the most in almost two years, data showed Tuesday.
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