Hungary trade surplus falls to EUR 577 m in May

Hungary posted a trade surplus of 577 million euros in May 2018, down by 245 million from the same month a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data on Tuesday.

Exports fell by an annual 0.1 percent to 9.058 billion euros, while imports rose by 2.9 percent to 8.481 billion.

KSH noted the impact that in May 2018 there was one less working day than in May 2017.

Fully 81 percent of exports and 77 percent of imports were traded with other European Union member states.

For January-May, exports were up an annual 4 percent at 43.793 billion euros, while imports rose by 5.9 percent to 40.592 billion.

The trade surplus in the first five months of the year was 3.201 billion euros, down by 571 million from the same period last year.

Gergely Suppán of Takarékbank said the foreign trade surplus had shrunk by more than expected as exports basically stagnated while imports were up because of strong domestic demand.

The trade surplus for the year is likely to be lower than 2017, he added.

Erste Bank analyst Orsolya Nyeste also noted the smaller-than-expected surplus, saying this could turn into a recurring feature in the coming months.

Source: MTI