The digital economy has been a key contributor to the economic development of countries in central and southeastern Europe. As Europe tackles the combined crises triggered by the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, digital economy may emerge as the means to mitigate the impacts. The digital economy has historically been a key growth driver […]

The volume of construction output in July 2022 in Hungary surpassed the previous year’s level by 3.0%, according to raw data, the country's Central Statistical Office reports. Out of the main groups of construction, the output at construction of buildings increased by 0.5%, that of civil engineering grew by 7.0%. Based on seasonally and working […]

The Budapest Stock Exchange's (BSE) share index fell this week, with the BUX closing at 40,910.81 points on Friday, down 1,030.46 points, 2.46% lower than the previous week, the Hungarian state news agency MTI reported Sunday morning along with a brief analysis. The weekly turnover on the stock market was HUF 33.26 billion, down from […]

Annual inflation, the average increase in the price of goods and services, was 15.6% in August in Hungary compared to the same month last year, with food prices increased the most (30.9%), according to according to official data The monthly inflation rate in August was 1.8%, the Central Statistical Office reports. The 15.6% annual inflation […]

The value of Hungarian exports was 13% and that of Hungarian imports 23% higher in EUR terms in July 2022 than in the same period of the previous year and the balance of external trade in goods deteriorated by EUR 975 million over this period, the Central Statistical Office reports. Compared to the previous month, […]

The share index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) fell in rising turnover this week, closing at 41,941.27 points on Friday, down 3.23% on the previous week, or 1,402.11 points, the state news agency MTI reported Sunday morning, along with a short analysis. The weekly turnover of the stock market was HUF 58.03 billion%, down […]

The National Bank of Hungary raised borrowing costs to an 18-year high this week, taking the European Union’s highest interest rate to 11.75%. Policy makers vowed to tighten monetary conditions further, in contrast with other central banks in the region. The Monetary Policy Council of the National Bank of Hungary delivered yet another massive interest […]

Consumption growth was the most significant factor in the second quarter GDP growth figure of 6.5%, which exceeded expectations, with the tourism and logistics sectors leading the expansion. For the third quarter, analysts expect a significant contraction, the business news site napi.hu reports. In the first half of 2022, economic output was 7.3% higher than […]

Industrial producer prices were up by 37.9% on average in July 2022 compared to pandemic figures one year earlier. Domestic output prices were 52.7% and non-domestic output prices 30.4% higher, the Central Statistical Office reports. The higher rate of increase in domestic output prices was owing to the larger proportion of the energy industry, where […]

At its meeting on August 30, 2022, the Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) reviewed the latest economic and financial developments and decided on raising the central bank base rate by 100 basis points to 11.75% - the highest in 18 years - with effect from August 31, 2022. This means that […]

August marks the fourth month of steady deterioration in business and consumer expectations. According to the empirical survey conducted by GKI Economics Research Co. with the support of the EU, business expectations fell by around 13 points since April this year, while consumer expectations dropped by nearly 30 points, and the latter also fell most […]

The stock index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) rose on the week, closing at 43,343.38 points on Friday, up 352.91 points or 0.82% on the previous week, the state news agency MTI reported this Sunday morning along with a brief analysis. The weekly turnover of the stock market was HUF 34.48 billion, compared to […]

Hungary’s currency, the forint, has brokern numerous negative records against the euro and the dollar in recent weeks. The trend in currency markets is similar across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) due to the war in Ukraine and the related sanctions, the forint has staged the steepest fall in the region. What could put a […]

The Hungarian currency dipped very low at times, but managed to recover somewhat against other currencies during the day. The forint (HUF) weakened against the major currencies in the early hours of Tuesday on the interbank foreign exchange market, while the Swiss franc and the US dollar were at historic highs during the day, the […]

Hungary started building up strategic stocks thirty years ago, and the country has had enough oil and oil products on stock for at least 90 days since 1998. The reserves have sometimes fallen a little below this level, but never as low as in August this year, when the government released very substantial quantities of […]