Hungary Q2 Growth Higher

Hungary’s economy grew by an annual 4.8% in the second quarter of 2018, up from 4.4% in the previous quarter, the Central Statistical Office said on Wednesday. Its second Q2 reading was revised up from a preliminary 4.6%, Reuters reported. KSH attributed the upward revision to better than expected performance of market-based services, which contributed the most to growth. Adjusted for seasonal and calendar year effects, the pace of economic growth quickened to 4.6%, up from 4.4% in the first reading. Quarter on quarter, GDP rose by an adjusted 1%, slowing from 1.2% in Q1 but up from 0.9% in the first reading. Growth in the first half of the year was revised up by 0.1 percentage point to an unadjusted 4.6% and an adjusted 4.7%.

On the production side, the value addition of services increased at a slower pace of 4.3% year-on-year in the second quarter. Despite the slowdown, services provided a 2.3 percentage point contribution to GDP growth, the highest among all sectors. Industrial data provided the biggest contradiction.