Hungary’s construction sector output jumps 27 pc in June

Output of Hungary’s construction sector rose by an annual 27.2 percent in June, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday show.

KSH noted that the jump came from a low base.

Output of the building segment was up 26.1 percent during the period. Output of the civil engineering segment rose by 29.6 percent.

In a month-on-month comparison, output rose a seasonally and workday-adjusted 1.1 percent.

In January-June, output was up an annual 27.0 percent.

In absolute terms, construction sector output came to 227.6 billion forints in June, at current prices.

Order stock was up 94.5 percent at the end of June from twelve months earlier. Orders rose by 41.0 percent in the building segment and 126.8 percent in the civil engineering segment.

New order volume rose by 39.6 percent, up 26.8 percent in the building segment and rising 47.9 percent in the civil engineering segment. In the civil engineering segment, the increase is due to contracts for road and railway developments, KSH noted.

Commenting on the data, economy ministry deputy state secretary Zoltán Marczinkó told public news channel M1 that the ministry expects the construction sector to add 0.5 percentage points to GDP growth this year. The volume of investments in Q1 this year totalled more than 1,000 billion forints, a 34 percent increase over the same period last year, Marczinko said.