Hungary posted a trade deficit of 335 million euros in October, according to a first reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday.
Exports edged up by an annual 0.9% to 10.368 billion euros, while imports climbed 14.4% to 10.703 billion euros to give Hungary a trade deficit of 335 million euros. Month on month, exports were flat and imports increased by 1.9%. Trade with other European Union member states accounted for about 75% of Hungary’s exports and 71% of imports in October.
For the Jan-Oct period, exports increased by 13.9% to 98.200 billion euros and imports rose by 17.7% to 95.954 billion euros. The trade surplus came to 2.247 billion euros.
Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppan said the fresh data showed the impact on exports of the shortage of chips and other parts, supply chain interruptions and delivery bottlenecks. The trade surplus could narrow to 2 billion euros this year from 5.62 billion euros in 2020, hit by worsening terms of trade and higher energy and commodities prices, he added. ING Bank’s Péter Virovácz said the trade balance was unlikely to improve in the coming months as household spending and corporate investments continued to boost imports. An improvement could come from the second half of 2022, as long as global supply chain problems are resolved, he added.
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