No good news as industrial production in Hungary fell by 7.3 percent

Headline industrial output fell by 7.3 percent year-on year in September, following a 5.2 percent decline in the previous month, a detailed release of data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Monday shows.

Output dropped 5.8 percent when adjusted for the number of workdays, KSH said.

At the same time, output of the automotive industry, Hungary’s biggest manufacturing sector, rose by 1.2 percent year-on-year in September, slowing after a 4.6 percent increase in the previous month, KSH added.

The segment accounted for 27 percent of manufacturing output during the month.

The detailed data show output of the electrical equipment segment, which made up 12 percent of manufacturing output, inched up by 2.0 percent.

Output of the computer, electronics and optical equipment segment, accounting for 10 percent of manufacturing, fell by 18.2 percent.

Output of the food, drinks and tobacco segment, which made up 13 percent of manufacturing sector output, slipped by 9.7 percent.

In a month-on-month comparison, output rose by a seasonally- and workday-adjusted 1.2 percent.

For the period January-September, output dropped by 4.9 percent year-on-year.

Industrial sales fell by 11.2 percent year-on-year in September. Export sales slipped by 7.7 percent and domestic sales dropped by 16.4 percent.

In absolute terms, industrial sales reached 5,916 billion forints (EUR 15.6bn). Export sales accounted for 62 percent of the total.

As we wrote today, Hungary’s construction sector is in big trouble, new official figures show