Hungary industrial output grows unadjusted 1.1% in February

Output rose 0.8% month-on-month, according to seasonally and workday-adjusted figures, following a 2.1% rise in January.


KSH attributed the rise in industrial output to growth in sales of the vehicle manufacturing sector and higher heating output as temperatures were colder in February than in the previous year.


Calendar year-adjusted domestic sales rose 3.9% year-on-year in February, while the adjusted export sales were up 1.1%.


Within exports, vehicle manufacturing exports, which account for almost 30% of industrial exports, rose 16.7% year-on-year, while exports of computer, electronic and optical products, which account for almost 25% of the total, fell a sharp 16.1%.


Domestic sales of the manufacturing sector fell 0.7% year-on-year in February.


Eight of the manufacturing industry's 13 branches registered rising output in February in an annual comparison, with vehicle manufacturing output growing 16.9% after declining 1.1% in the previous month. Output of computer, electronic and optical products manufacturing fell the most, by 20.8%, on declining demand for telecommunications and electronic consumer goods. Output of the food, beverage and tobacco industries climbed 8.3%.


New export orders fell 7.2% from a year earlier and new domestic orders were up 57.1% due to a single large order.


Total order stock was up 16.3% from a year earlier. 


Per capita output of industrial companies employing at least five people rose 1.6% in the twelve months to February as the number of employed fell 1.3% year-on-year.