Inflation picks up to 2.3 pc, industrial output down 0.5 pc in Hungary
Change language:
Budapest, February 14 (MTI) – Annual consumer prices in Hungary grew by 2.3 percent in January, accelerating from a 1.8 percent increase in December, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said. Hungarian industrial output fell by an annual 0.5 percent in December 2016, while output for the full year rose by 0.9 percent, a detailed reading of data released by KSH on Tuesday shows.
London-based emerging market analysts had expected CPI to climb by over 2 percent on the back of a substantial base effect in energy prices.
The National Bank of Hungary said after the release that its measures of underlying inflation “did not indicate any significant change compared to the previous month” in spite of the 0.5 percent rise.
Headline inflation rose mainly on higher fuel prices and in part on base effects, the central bank said. The measures of underlying inflation were broadly unchanged while “the changes in the prices of demand-sensitive products and more volatile items with greater sensitivity to cost changes such as food and energy had an upward effect on prices”, the NBH added.