The drop in Hungary’s industrial exports in June does not bode well for growth in the future, analysts said on Friday.
Hungary’s year-on-year industrial output climbed a working day-adjusted 1.0% in June, slowing from a 2.3% rise in May, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said in a second reading in the morning. Unadjusted output fell 1.4%.
Exports edged down 0.6% year-on-year in June, following an 11.2% rise in May. Domestic sales declined 6.4% after falling 0.9% in the previous month.
Sándor Jobbágy of CIB Bank said the fall in exports was a concerning sign, adding it was conceivable that big increases in earlier months came from accrued inventories.
Jobbágy put full-year industrial output at 6.5%.
Raiffeisen’s chief analyst Zoltán Török said the 26% fall in exports of the computer, electronics and optical equipment segment, which accounts for almost one-fourth of manufacturing sector exports, was a warning sign. A fall in exports by the Hungarian unit of handset maker Nokia as well as by consumer electronics makers in the cities of Székesfehérvár and Tatabánya could be behind the decline, he added.
Török put full-year industrial output at 4.8-6.5%.