BUDAPEST: Retail sales in Hungary rose by 5.5 percent year-on-year in June, slightly slower than the 6 percent growth in the previous month, a first reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday shows. Adjusted for calendar year effects, retail sales were up 6.0 percent.
Adjusted food sales climbed by 4.1 percent, non-food sales jumped by 8.5 percent and fuel sales rose by 5.1 percent. Retail sales rose by an unadjusted 4.0 percent and an adjusted 3.9 percent annually in January-June. Analyst Péter Virovácz of ING told MTI that growing retail sales seem to reflect the April and May wage hikes and growing consumer confidence. Gergely Suppán of Takarékbank said retail growth accelerated in the second quarter both in annual and quarterly comparison which means a robust contribution to GDP.
Gergely Urmossy of Erste Bank said that the retail data of the first half year confirm the bank’s expectation that internal consumer demand would be a major driver of GDP growth, forecast to reach 3.7 percent in 2017.
