National Bank of Hungary (MNB) vice president responsible for monetary policy, financial stability, and foreign exchange reserve management, Zoltán Kurali told the Reuters news agency that the Tisza government’s promise to meet the conditions for adopting the euro by 2030 means that Hungary could join the exchange rate mechanism (ERM-2), the euro’s “waiting room” by […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Hungary had a EUR 3.394 billion surplus in trade of services in the second quarter, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Wednesday show. Exports of services rose 11.1% year-on-year to EUR 10.355 billion. Imports of services climbed 13.4% to EUR 6.961 billion. The tourism surplus reached EUR 1.327 billion, the logistics surplus […]

Hungary's seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) stood at 51.3 points in August, edging down from 51.4 in the previous month, the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (Halpim) said on Tuesday. The PMI was over the 50-point threshold, signalling expansion in the manufacturing sector. Among the PMI sub-indices, the new orders index fell […]

The government has met all the legislative conditions for accessing the funds of the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility, Transportation and Investment Minister Dávid Vitézy said in Budapest on Monday, at a press conference on a HUF 11 billion trolley bus development. "Hungary has met all milestones and super milestones, so we will bring […]