Hungarian forint losing its value again, here is why
Yesterday was not the luckiest day for the Hungarian forint and those Hungarians who receive their monthly salary in forint. The national currency has been strengthening for weeks, reaching even a miraculous 385/EUR level. However, on Monday it jumped on a roller-coaster again and hit even 395/EUR. We explain to you why below.
According to portfolio.hu, today the forint seems to perform better. Currently, it is around 392.8/EUR. But Monday was another black day for the Hungarian national currency. It lost 2 percent of its value against the euro, and this morning, it reached even 396/EUR.
Portfolio.hu argues that the reason for the relapse was that the markets “priced” positive economic news too early. Therefore, most investors speculated on the strengthening of the Hungarian forint. Furthermore, the USD strengthened considerably against the forint in the last two days.
Industrial output up by 2.0 pc in December
The output of Hungary’s industrial sector rose by an annual 2.0 percent in December, picking up from 0.6 percent in the previous month, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday. Adjusted for the number of workdays, of which there were two fewer in December than in the base period, output rose by 5.7 percent. KSH said output of the automotive industry, Hungary’s biggest manufacturing branch, “grew significantly”, while output fell in most other branches, including the computer, electronics and optical equipment segment and the food, beverage and tobacco segment.
KSH will release detailed data on the output of the various segments on 13 February. Month after month, output rose by a seasonally- and workday-adjusted 3.8 percent. For the full year, output climbed 5.8 percent.
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Source: MTI, portfolio.hu