BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Hungary's industrial production declined at the steepest pace in five months, preliminary figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed on Thursday.
Separate official data showed that retail sales expanded modestly at the end of the year.
The volume of industrial production dropped a working-day-adjusted 6.4 percent yearly in December, faster than the 2.7 percent fall a month ago.
Further, this was the sharpest decrease since July 2024, when production had fallen 6.5 percent.
Among the manufacturing subsections, output in the manufacture of transport equipment and that of electrical equipment decreased, while the production of computers, electronic and optical products, food products, beverages, and tobacco products increased.
On a monthly basis, industrial production fell 1.8 percent in December, following a 1.1 percent decline in the previous month.
On an adjusted basis, industrial production dropped 5.3 percent in December compared to last year.
During the year 2024, the volume of industrial production was 4.0 percent lower compared to 2023.
Retail sales rose 0.1 percent year-over-year in December versus a 4.1 percent growth in the prior month. Additionally, this was the least expansion since the current sequence of increase began in March 2024.
Sales volumes increased by 1.2 percent in specialized and non-specialized food shops and by 0.5 percent in non-food retailing.
Sales via mail order and the internet, which account for 8.9 percent of total retail sales, increased 0.5 percent from last year.
On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped 1.2 percent on a seasonally and working-day-adjusted basis, partly explained by Christmas shopping brought forward to November and the increase in outbound tourism.
In 2024, the volume of retail sales advanced 2.6 percent compared to the previous year.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
