Industrial output up 4.5 pc yr/yr in Feb – UPDATE

Industrial output grew by an annual 4.5 percent in February, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday.

Output of the automotive segment fell “by a small degree”, while output of the other two big manufacturing segments, computer, electronics and optical equipment, and food, drink and tobacco products, increased.

The expansion in the food segment was over headline industrial sector growth, KSH added.

Month on month, output grew by 1.6 percent, based on seasonally and working day-adjusted data.

In January-February,

unadjusted output grew by an annual 6.6 percent.

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Analysts

Commenting on the data, Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppán said industrial output had outperformed expectations thanks to better supply chain performance. Carmakers trust that the global chip shortage can ease by the second half of the year thanks to investment in additional capacities, leading to a jump in industrial production, Suppan said. He put full-year industrial output at around 5 percent.