Hungary’s industrial output went up by an annual 2.6% in November, rising again after two straight months of decline, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data.
Output of the automotive sector, which has the biggest weight in manufacturing in Hungary, fell “considerably” as companies scaled back production because of the global chip shortage, KSH said. Output of the computer, electronics and optical equipment segment “declined by a smaller rate”, while output of “most manufacturing branches”, including the food, drink and tobacco segment, “grew significantly”, it added. Adjusted for the number of workdays, output rose by 2.1%. In a month-on-month comparison, output increased by a seasonally and workday-adjusted 2.9%. For the period January-November, output rose by an annual 9.9%, KSH said.
Takarékbank chief analyst Gergely Suppan said industrial output might have risen 9-12% were it not for the chip shortage which has dragged output back under pre-crisis levels. He said full-year industrial output could grow by 10% in 2022 and 5-6% next year on base effects and new capacities starting up. ING Bank senior analyst Péter Virovácz said that while Hungary’s two most important manufacturing segments – automotive and computer, electronics and optical equipment – are still struggling with shortages, their poor performance seem to have been offset by a combination of other branches of the manufacturing sector, which he called particularly promising.
hungarymatters.hu
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