BUDAPEST: Preliminary data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office on Thursday showed Hungary’s foreign trade surplus widened in October from a year ago, as imports fell faster than exports.
Data showed that Hungary’s trade surplus rose to EUR 891 million in the month of October from EUR 724 million in the corresponding month last year. Surplus was more than EUR 808 million expected by economists. During the first ten months of the year, total trade surplus of the country was EUR 8.5 billion versus EUR 7.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2015.
Details of the report showed exports dropped 1.1 percent year-over-year in October, while imports declined by 3.5 percent. The share of European Union member states was 81 percent in exports and 78 percent in imports.
In its quarterly outlook published last month, CIB Bank analysts forecast Hungaryʼs GDP growth will accelerate to 2.7 percent next year from 2.1 percent in 2016, but still remain under the governmentʼs respective targets.
The OECD has lowered its projection for Hungary’s GDP growth next year to 2.5 percent in volume terms in a forecast published in Nov 2016, down from 3.1 percent in the previous Economic Outlook released in June 2016.
