Orbán cabinet happy but Hungary’s retail sales still very low

Retail sales increased by an annual 2.6 percent in June, according to unadjusted data, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday.

Based on calendar-year adjusted data, sales were down by 0.1 percent on the previous month.

Adjusted food sales increased by 3.2 percent, non-food sales climbed 3.6 percent and vehicle fuel sales inched up 0.5 percent.

During the period of January-June, the volume of retail trade went up by 2.7 percent, KSH said.

The national economy ministry hailed the “sixth of unbroken monthly increases” in consumption, noting that turnover of grocery stores, accounting for 75 percent of the total retail trade, was up 4.1 percent. “Hungarian families spent a total 594 billion forints more [on groceries] in June, 20 billion forints more than in June last year,” the ministry’s statement said.

The ministry also noted a 14 percent increase in online retail trade, which accounts for 7.9 percent of the total.

The upswing in retail trade has been supported by lower inflation, the statement said, adding that the government’s “effective measures will keep inflation at a low level”. They noted that inflation was 3.7 percent in June, with annual food price inflation reduced to 1.1 percent.

“Thanks to an uninterrupted increase in real wages in the past nine months and gradual lifting of cautionary measures, domestic consumption is being restored” to earlier levels, the ministry said.

The minister cannot count or read Romanian data, says a news outlet

Meanwhile, 444.hu wrote that data means the Hungarian government was unable to increase consumption in Hungary despite all efforts like the price caps and the price monitoring system. Last June, the contraction of retail sales was 7.6%. Thus, the current 2.6% means retail sales are still 5.4% below the pre-crisis level.

2023 H1 brought a 10.3% decrease in trade sales, while 2024 H1’s increase was only 2.7%. 

Photo: Aldi/FB

The amount spent on groceries is a 3.48% rise, while the inflation was 3.7%. That means Hungarians consumed less in real value than in 2023 H1. 

444.hu suggests the minister confused the Hungarian data with a Romanian, where the similarly 2024 July rate is 8.1% (the Hungarian only 2.6%).

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