Retail sales in Hungary rose faster than expected in November, but analysts see tax changes causing sales to drop from January.
Retail sales volume edged up 1.1% in November from the same month a year earlier, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said early Wednesday.
Gergely Suppan of TakarekBank attributed the increase mainly to a low base. He said retail sales could fall 1.5-2% in January because of the higher VAT rate and cuts in social transfers.
Erste Bank’s Orsolya Nyeste said the increase was part of a trend but could also be attributed to one-off effects, such as the payment of real yields on private pension fund assets transferred to the state. She added that retail sales could fall 2% this year.
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