Hungary Industrial Output Declines Further, Retail Sales Expand Strongly

(RTTNews) - Hungary's industrial production continued its declining trend in January, preliminary figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed on Thursday.

Separate official data showed that retail sales grew at the fastest pace in ten months.

The volume of industrial production dropped a working-day-adjusted 3.9 percent yearly in January, much slower than the 7.9 percent fall a month ago.

Production volume decreased in the majority of the manufacturing subsections in January, while the manufacture of computers, electronics, and optical products increased, the agency said.

On a monthly basis, industrial production recovered 0.8 percent, following a 2.9 percent decline in the previous month.

On an adjusted basis, industrial production also fell the same 3.9 percent in January compared to last year.

Retail sales rose 4.7 percent year-over-year in January versus a flat change in the prior month. Additionally, this was the quickest expansion since March 2024, when sales had risen 6.1 percent.

Sales volumes increased by 4.7 percent in specialized and non-specialized food shops and by 5.6 percent in non-food retailing.

Sales via mail order and the internet, which account for 8.8 percent of total retail sales, increased 3.9 percent from last year.

On a monthly basis, retail sales climbed 2.2 percent on a seasonally and working-day-adjusted basis.