Hungary’s industrial output rises 6.2 pc in July

Industrial output in Hungary rose by an annual 6.2 percent in July, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data on Thursday.

Adjusted for the number of workdays, output went up by 3.9 percent.

In a month-on-month comparison, output dropped by 2.0 percent, adjusted for seasonal and workday effects.

For the period January-July, output rose by 3.9 percent year-on-year, KSH said.

Commenting on the figures, deputy state secretary at the innovation and technology ministry Gyula Pomázi said industrial output had developed in line with expectations. He said industry had contributed 0.8 percentage points to Hungary’s 4.8 percent second-quarter GDP growth rate.

Pomázi said that in addition to the auto industry, the rubber, chemical and medical product segments were expected to be drivers of growth in output for the remainder of the year.

ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said the headline figure, adjusted for workdays, was well under the 8 percent market consensus and could augur worse-than-expected third-quarter GDP growth.

Shutdowns at carmakers are the likely culprit behind the weak industrial growth, he added.

Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppán also said automotive industry shutdowns were probably to blame for the slowdown of growth in the sector. He put full-year industrial output growth at 4.8 percent, down from 5.3 percent in 2017.

Source: MTI