Surplus of External Trade in Goods: EUR 583 Mn

The volume of Hungarian export in goods decreased by 3.3% in January 2024 and that of import declined by 8.2% compared to the same period of the previous year. The surplus was EUR 583 million, the balance improved by EUR 986 million year-on-year, the Central Statistical Office reported this Tuesday.

Compared to December, the seasonally and working-day adjusted volume of export decreased by 1.9% and that of import lessened by 12%.

In January 2024:
The value of export amounted to EUR 11.5 billion (HUF 4,396 billion), that of import to EUR 10.9 billion (HUF 4,174 billion).

In January 2024 compared to a year earlier:
The value of export decreased by 6.8% and that of import declined by 14% in EUR terms.

According to calendar-adjusted data, the volume of export lessened by 4.1% and that of import decreased by 9.1%.

The balance of the external trade in goods improved by EUR 986 million. (The balance showed a EUR 86 million higher surplus than the one published in the first estimate.)

The HUF price level of the external trade in goods decreased by 6.9% in exports and was down by 9.8% in imports compared to the same month of the previous year. The terms of trade improved by 3.2%. The HUF exchange rate strengthened by 3.4% against the EUR and by 4.6% against the US dollar.

Calculated at January 2023 prices, the export of machinery and transport equipment lessened by 9.9%, their import declined by 18%. The volume of export of the commodity group of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, n.e.s., decreased only by a few percent, its import fell more than one-sixth. The export volume of the commodity group of road vehicles decreased by more than one-tenth while its import volume lessened by nearly one-sixth compared to the base period. Both the export and import turnover of the commodity group of telecommunication and sound recording and reproducing apparatus declined about one-fifth, year-on-year. The turnover of the power generating machinery and equipment commodity group slightly rose on the export side, while its import volume decreased by more than one-fifth compared to the January 2023 level. The aggregate commodity group of machinery and transport equipment contributed to the overall volume reduction in total turnover by 5.7 percentage points on the export side and by 7.9 percentage points on the import one.

The export volume of manufactured goods became 2.4% higher, while their import volume decreased by 0.7%. The volume increase in export was impacted by the turnover of organic chemicals, while the volume decrease in import was mainly influenced by the changes in the turnover of manufactures of metal, n.e.s.. The aggregate commodity group of manufactured goods held back the overall turnover volume reduction observed in both trade directions by 0.7 percentage points in export and escalated it on the import side by 0.2 percentage points.