At its September meeting, the Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) left the base rate unchanged at 5.50%, marking the first time it has kept the benchmark rate steady following the interest rate cuts over the summer. The central bank announced that, effective January 1, 2028, it will lower its inflation target […]

Last year, nearly three billion electronic payment transactions were carried out in Hungary, up from 2.5 billion the previous year, while the proportion of users of electronic payment solutions and businesses accepting such transactions is also steadily rising. That is according to Miklós Luspay, Director of the Financial Infrastructures and Payment Systems Directorate at the […]

Amid rising trading volume, the Budapest Stock Exchange (BÉT) stock index strengthened this week; on Friday, the BUX closed at 152,688.63 points, up 0.11%, or 170.36 points, from the previous week. Weekly trading volume totaled HUF 143.7 billion, up from HUF 98.7 billion the previous week, with leading stocks posting mixed results. On Monday, in […]

The real question is whether it will be possible to create a sustainable rental housing sector with rental housing construction. Building apartments is a one-time investment, while creating a rental housing system is a decades-long housing policy task, according to a new research study by the GKI Economic Research Institute. In Hungary, the proportion of […]

Analysts at MBH Bank, Hungary's second-biggest lender, put GDP growth at 1.8% in 2026 and 2.5% in 2027 in a forecast released on Thursday. MBH Bank Analyst Center head Zoltán Árokszállási said the pickup in growth would be supported by the arrival of Hungary's unlocked European Union funding, new industrial capacities and improved external demand. […]

In July 2026, construction output volume, based on both raw and working-day adjusted data, was 12.2% lower than a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office reports. Output of both main construction groups decreased, that of buildings by 10.7% and that of civil engineering by 14.0%. Based on seasonally and working-day adjusted indices, construction output was […]

The Budapest Stock Exchange’s stock index (BUX) rose to a new all-time high this week. The BUX closed at 152,518.27 points on Friday, marking a 3.23% weekly gain, while weekly trading volume fell short of the previous week’s level. Among the leading stocks, Mol performed the best, with its share price rising 8.64% and also […]

“Euro adoption must be carried out in such a way that it yields more benefits than risks for Hungary’s economy,” according to National Bank of Hungary (MNB) Governor Mihály Varga, speaking at the 64th Itinerant Congress of Economists this week. He underlined that it was necessary to adopt the euro in a manner that would […]

Former National Bank of Hungary (MNB) governor Péter Ákos Bod is of the view that the macroeconomic trajectory outlined by the Hungarian government is achievable with a normal market economy. Addressing an annual conference of economists in Eger (NE Hungary), Péter Ákos Bod highlighted the nationalization of voluntary pension savings in 2011 in explaining why […]

Energy costs account for 4–10% of the total operating costs of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while Hungarian companies pay one of the three highest gas prices in Europe. Amid market uncertainties and rising prices, flexible consumption and energy storage may offer a solution, SME Sales Manager at E.ON Energy Solutions, Sándor Szalai explained […]

Erste Bank Hungary analysts put Hungary's GDP growth at 1.7% in 2026 and 2.2% in 2027, the lender said in a forecast on Thursday. The bank's analysts put a protracted conflict in the Middle East, tensions over tariffs, the impact of drought on the farm sector and a summer energy crisis among downside risks. On […]

Hungary's annualized consumer price index inched up to 1.3% in August from 1.2% in the previous month, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Tuesday show. Food prices dropped 1.4% and fell 4.8% excluding the price of eating out. Fresh fruit prices dropped 15.6%, pork prices fell 12.9%, fresh vegetable prices were down […]

Amid rising trading volume, the Budapest Stock Exchange (BÉT) stock index fell this week; on Friday, the BUX closed at 147,747.91 points, down 1.94% from the previous week. Weekly trading volume totaled HUF 129.5 billion, up from HUF 107.9 billion the previous week, with leading stocks – with the exception of Magyar Telekom – posting […]

The Hungarian government has passed more than a hundred new laws to gain access to EU recovery funds that had been withheld as a result of the Orbán government’s policies. According to the government, all necessary conditions have been met, but these still need to be approved by the European Commission. If this happens, a […]

A new deficit target in an amendment to the 2026 budget drafted by the government highlights Hungary's "significant public finance challenges" Fitch Ratings said in a note on Wednesday. The amendments to the 2026 budget, submitted to lawmakers on Monday, target a general government deficit of 7.5% of GDP, well over the original 3.7% target […]