Hungary industrial output climbs 6.5 pc in Jan, Q4 GDP output up 1.6 pc yr/yr

Budapest, March 7 (MTI) – Hungary’s industrial output rose by an annual 6.5 percent in January, preliminary data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Tuesday show. Budapest, March 7 (MTI) – Hungary’s economy grew by an annual 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter and by 1.5 percent adjusted for seasonal and calendar year effects, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a second reading of data on Tuesday.

The rise followed a 0.5 percent decline in December and showed the fastest growth since last August.

Adjusted for the number of workdays, the increase was 1.6 percent.

In a month-on-month comparison, output edged down a seasonally- and workday-adjusted 0.1 percent.

Erste Bank analyst Gergely Urmossy said the pickup in growth was smaller than expected, but PMI points to a continued increase in the coming months. He forecast growth in output of 3-4 percent for the full year.

ING Bank senior analyst Péter Virovácz noted that industrial orders in German had plunged more than 7 percent in January, at the steepest rate since 2009. This will weigh on Hungary’s industrial sector too, he added, projecting full-year industrial output at below 2 percent.