Output of Hungary’s industrial sector rose by an annual 14.4% in August, expanding at the fastest pace in more than a year, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Thursday.
Adjusted for the number of work days — of which there were two fewer in the base period — output increased 9.3%, accelerating from 6.6% in the previous month. KSH said output of most branches of manufacturing rose in August. Output of the automotive industry “jumped”, albeit from a low base, while output of the computer, electronics and optical equipment segment and the food, drinks and tobacco products segment also “expanded significantly”, it added. Output for the period January-August rose by an annual 6.1%. Month on month, output edged up a seasonally- and workday-adjusted 0.1%.
ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said output may have been lifted as the usual end-of-summer shutdowns were cancelled at factories because of forced halts in production in the spring, amid supply chain woes. Businesses don’t appear to be suffering the impact of higher energy costs or the global decline in demand as they work to fill orders that have “piled up” in recent months, he added. He noted that the drop in PMI under 50 in September could augur a slowdown in the coming months.
hungarymatters.hu
