BUDAPEST: Hungary’s industrial output rose by 9.4 percent year-on-year in December 2015, only slightly slower than an upward revised 9.6 percent in the previous month, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday. In 2015, industrial output was up by 7.5 percent after a 7.7 percent increase in 2014.
Adjusted for the number of workdays, industrial output rose by 6.9 percent in December and was up by 7.2 percent for the full last year. In 2015 industrial output surpassed the highest level reached before the crisis, KSH deputy department chief Miklós Schindele said.
In a month-on-month comparison, industrial output fell by 0.7 percent in December, adjusted for seasonal effects and the number of workdays. Output fell month-on-month after increases in September and November.
Economy ministry deputy state secretary Mark Aron Lenner told public news channel M1 that similarly to last year, Hungary’s industrial production is expected to grow by 7.5-8 percent in 2016. If the annual rate of growth is maintained, the government will be able to reach its goal to increase the proportion of industrial output in the GDP to 30 percent by 2020, he added.
Erste Bank analysts said vehicle manufacturing will continue to play an important role in industrial output this year and growth will continue in vehicle manufacturing and in the whole of the manufacturing industry.
However, annual growth is expected be only 4 percent, partly due to the high figure registered last year. Gergely Suppan of Takarékbank said the growth of industrial output is likely to drop from last year’s 7.5 percent to 5.5 percent this year because car manufacturers in Hungary, except for Suzuki, have reached their full capacity.
