After reaching its lowest point this year in August, the GKI economic sentiment index rose within the statistical margin of error in September 2016. That is according to the empirical survey conducted by Hungarian think tank GKI.

A new set of data are evidence that labour shortage is becoming an increasingly pressing problem in the Hungarian economy. The number of job vacancies grew by over 3,000 in the second quarter since the end of March 2016, portfolio.hu reports.

A law amendment changing the regulation of the excise tax on fuels will come into effect in Hungary in early September. In view of the current market developments, chances are high that the excise tax on both gasoline and diesel will rise as of October.

The volume of investments in the Hungarian economy was 20.3% lower in the second quarter of 2016 than in the same period of 2015, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported on Wednesday. Compared to the previous quarter investments were down 0.8%.

Hungarians working in foreign countries permanently or temporarily sent home less money last year than in the previous year, the business daily Világgazdaság said on Friday citing World Bank figures. The total transfer was 450 million dollars less than in 2014.

The Ministry for National Economy expects stagnating industrial output growth to be transitory in Huntary, as both order volume and industrial confidence indices are pointing to further expansion, Minister of State István Lepsényi pointed out.

Hungary's manufacturing industry has been facing a shocking shortage of labour as of Q3 2016, with more than 70% of the companies surveyed reporting that the lack of adequate workforce is a hindrance to production, portfolio.hu reports.

If the economic processes remain constant and productivity improves further Hungary’s accession to the euro area by the end of this decade "should not be groundless", Economy Minister Mihály Varga is quoted by portfolio.hu as saying .

The French-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI France Hongrie – FHCCI) has been serving the French business community in this country for a quarter of a century. Its President, Miklós Maróthy gave an interview to Diplomacy & Trade.

The volume of exports in euro terms was up 6.3% in May 2016, while imports grew 2.4% compared to May 2015, the Central Statistics Office is quoted by portfolio.hu. The foreign trade surplus was EUR 755 mn, setting a new record.

Hungary’s GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) reached 68% of the European Union average in 2015, a Eurostat report showed on Wednesday. The Hungarian figure is better than Latvia’s and those member states that joined the EU after 2004.

The OECD projected hardly a month ago that the Hungarian economy will grow by 2.5% year on year in 2016. However, this forecast has been cut sharply to 2016 in the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook published this Wednesday.

The decline of the GKI economic sentiment index that started this January, stopped in May. The business confidence index remained unchanged compared to April. However, consumer expectations almost reached their peak value this year.

The European Commission recommends Hungary to achieve annual fiscal adjustments and lower sector-specific taxes, reduce the tax wedge for low-income earners and facilitate the transition from the public work scheme to the primary labour market.

The latest home price index analysis by the Hungarian mortgage bank FHB suggests that home prices in the country rose by 14% on average from a year earlier, the biggest increase seen in a European Union member state.