In February 2018, the volume of industrial output rose by 4.1% year-on-year, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday. Year-on-year, output grew by 5.4% in the first two months of this year.
Industrial output in February was 0.5% above the level of the previous month according to seasonally and working-day adjusted indices, representing a slight setback from the more than 1% growth registered in recent months. Although a temporary slump was to be expected following strong growth in December and January, a strong European economic environment, as well as domestic capacity expansions, apparently provide a sound basis for growth.
Looking at the trend, we can see output picking up again from the last third of 2017. The fluctuation of Hungarian industrial production is typically tied to large capacity expansion projects and does not closely follow the ebb and flow of external economic effects.
The annual figure was slightly lower than a year earlier at 4.1%. Until detailed data are published next week, we only know that of the three major segments of the processing industry, growth was above average in the food industry and about average in electronics manufacturing, while the output of car makers only grew slightly compared to 2016.
