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Gross domestic product grew 0.6% year-on-year in the July–September period, based on both raw and seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures. Compared to the previous quarter, economic performance was broadly unchanged. Over the first three quarters of the year, GDP increased 0.3% on raw data and 0.2% on an adjusted basis.
From the production side, services were once again the dominant contributor to expansion, rising 1.5% year-on-year and adding 0.9 percentage point to overall GDP growth. The strongest increases came from financial and insurance activities (up 3.8%), accommodation and food services (3.0%), and professional, scientific, technical and administrative services as well as education (both 2.9%).
Wholesale and retail trade grew 2.6%, human health and social work 2.3%, and information and communication 1.7%. Transportation and storage saw a marginal improvement of 0.4%.
A few service branches dipped slightly: arts and recreation (down 0.1%), real estate (down 0.3%), and public administration (down 0.6%).
Construction output increased 2.6%, contributing 0.1 percentage point to overall growth. Industry, however, contracted 1.7%, driven primarily by lower activity in vehicle production. Computer, electronic and optical products helped soften the downturn, but manufacturing as a whole fell 0.8%. Agriculture declined 6.2%, subtracting 0.2 percentage point from GDP.
Taxes on products, net of subsidies, lifted growth by an additional 0.1 percentage point.
From the expenditure side, household final consumption expenditure rose 2.6% year-on-year, reflecting stronger domestic demand. Spending increased across all product categories, including an 8.2% jump in durable goods and a 4.1% rise in semi-durables. Services consumption was up 2.6%.
The overall actual final consumption of households rose 1.9%, though government consumption dropped 6.3%. Social transfers in kind to households from nonprofit institutions grew 1%.
Gross fixed capital formation fell 3% year-on-year. While investment in construction declined, machinery and equipment investments increased.
Gross capital formation overall rose 11.5%, and domestic use grew 3.9%, indicating that internal demand remains a stabilizing element of the economy.
Hungary recorded a trade surplus of HUF 1.045 trillion at current prices in the quarter. However, the volume of exports slipped 0.6%, while imports grew 3.9%, creating a negative contribution to GDP from net trade.
Goods exports fell 0.8% and imports increased 6.5%. In services, including tourism, exports declined 0.8% and imports decreased 7.4%.
As a result, net trade reduced overall GDP growth by 3.3 percentage points, offsetting gains from domestic demand.
Compared with the second quarter of the year, the economy showed no significant change. Agriculture grew 1%, and both industry and services rose 0.3%. Construction output dropped 4%.
Household consumption edged up 0.5%, while government consumption fell across several categories. Investment slipped 0.4%. Both exports and imports increased—by 0.4% and 2.9%, respectively—highlighting continued strength in demand for imported goods and services.
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