Industrial output up 2.7 pc in February

Budapest, April 5 (MTI) – In February industrial output in Hungary was up 2.7 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, a preliminary release of data by the Central Statistical Office on Wednesday showed.

Output growth slowed from a 6.5 percent increase in January.

The February increase was 7 percent when adjusted for the number of working days during the period. KSH said that the difference between the adjusted and the main figure was because 2016 was a leap year.

In a month-on-month comparison, industrial output rose by 3.4 percent, adjusted for seasonal and workday effects.

In January-February, industrial output was up an annual 4.5 percent.

Takarekbank analyst Gergely Suppán said PMI figures and economic growth in Europe had already heralded a rise in industrial production. Industrial output could grow by 4 percent to 4.5 percent this year because of low base values last year and increasing capacity in the food industry and the rubber industry, he said, adding that the economic growth rate could pick up in 2018 as car manufacturing capacity increases.

ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said the good performance of the industrial sector could help balance out the weaker performance of the retail sector, but overall there is no reason to hope that the Hungarian economy could achieve dynamic growth in the first quarter of the year, he added.

Source: MTI