Hungary industrial output falls 2.9% in March

Output of Hungary's industrial sector fell 2.9% year-on-year in March, a first reading of data published by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Tuesday shows. The decline slowed from a 5.3% drop in February. Adjusted for the number of workdays, output edged down 0.7% in March, after falling 1.0% in February. In a seasonally- and workday-adjusted month-on-month comparison, output rose 0.4% in February, accelerating from a 0.1% increase in February. KSH will publish a second reading of the data on May 15. Zoltán Török, an analyst at Raiffeisen Bank, said industrial output was likely to stagnate in the second quarter in a year-on-year comparison, but could rise from the second half. He put output up about 1% for the full year. Takarékbank's Gergely Suppan said output could start to grow year-on-year from April. From the second half, new capacity at the local plants of Audi, Daimler and Opel could lift output by 3-3.5%, he added.