Hungary retail sales up 5.2 pc in June, revised data show

Retail sales in Hungary were revised downward to an annual 5.2 percent in June from 5.5 percent in the first reading, the Central Statistical Office said in a second reading of data on Wednesday.

Adjusted for calendar year effects, retail sales were up 5.7 percent.

Adjusted food sales increased by 3.7 percent, non-food sales jumped 8.3 percent and fuel sales rose by 5.1 percent.

In absolute terms, retail sales came to 872 billion forints (EUR 2.9bn) in June. Food sales accounted for 47 percent of the total, non-food sales for 38 percent and fuel sales for 15 percent.

In January-June, retails sales rose by 3.9 percent in both unadjusted and adjusted terms.

Commenting on the data, economy ministry deputy state secretary István Zoltán Marczinkó told public television that growing wages were behind the retail sales growth rate, which was more than double the EU average.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said the May and June data greatly boosted annual growth, with non-food products driving the sector. A further increase in consumption is forecast in the coming months, with the November wage agreement and VAT cuts further boosting the sector and GDP growth, the statement said.

As we wrote yesterday, the Hungarian central bank‘s Monetary Council decided to keep the bank’s key rate on hold at 0.90 percent at a meeting on Tuesday, as expected.

Also interesting, Hungarian net wages grew at the same pace as gross wages did to reach 197,672 forints (EUR 649). While the median average wage in EU is about EUR 1,520 not all countries are equal, so for example the largest average salary have been registered in Denmark (EUR 3,095) while the lowest in Bulgaria (EUR 406), Hungary has the third lowest net wage in EU.

Source: MTI