The Government Debt Management Agency (ÁKK) sold a combined HUF 40 bln of bonds at auction today, raising its original offer by HUF 3 bln on strong demand for the five-year bonds, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

Hungarian banksʼ pre-tax return on equity reached 16.9% last year, returning to pre-crisis levels, but profits were lifted by one-offs, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) said in its biannual Financial Stability Report today, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.

Online bookings accounted for a little more than two-thirds of domestic guestsʼ spending on rooms at commercial accommodation in Hungary last year, a survey by online researcher GKI Digital shows, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) accepted HUF 175 billion of placements in its three-month deposits for banks at a tender on Wednesday, well under the HUF 325 bln of maturing deposits, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

The Government Debt Management Agency (ÁKK) bought back a combined HUF 19.13 billion of bonds expiring in 2018 before maturity at a reverse auction today, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.

The base rate of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) could be kept intact until 2019, or possibly even beyond, Deputy Governor Márton Nagy told wire service Reuters on Tuesday. Nagy also pointed out that inflationary expectations were anchored at a very low level despite strong wage growth.

The Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) decided to keep the central bankʼs key rate on hold at 0.90% at its meeting today, as expected, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

The Government Debt Management Agency (ÁKK) sold HUF 20 billion of discount three-month T-bills at auction today, in line with the original offer, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

The volume of retail sales in Hungary was up by 3.3% in March compared to the same month a year earlier according to raw data, and by 5.4% adjusted for calendar effects, chiefly boosted by the Easter effect, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a second estimate of data issued today.

Hungaryʼs central bank is expected to keep its 0.9% policy rate unchanged and has sufficient scope to maintain its long-standing dovish stance for a prolonged period of time, London-based emerging markets economists said ahead of todayʼs Monetary Council rate-setting meeting, according to a report by state news agency MTI late Monday.

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) allotted HUF 50 billion of six-month forint swaps and HUF 50 bln of 12-month swaps against euros, both the maximum volumes on offer, at tenders held Monday, the central bank said, according to state news agency MTI.

In 2017 and 2018, Hungary should pursue its fiscal policy in line with the requirements of the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact, which translates into a substantial fiscal effort for 2018, the European Commission said in its draft country-specific recommendation published Monday, reported by state news wire MTI.   

Hungaryʼs cash flow-based general government, excluding local councils, ran a HUF 121.5 billion deficit at the end of April, the Ministry for National Economy (NGM) confirmed in a second reading of data released today, according to state news agency MTI. The deficit reached 10.4% of the HUF 1.1664 trillion full-year target.

Economic research institute GKIʼs combined gauge of consumer and business confidence rose to 1.7 points in May, a three-year high, from 0.5 points in the previous month. The standalone business confidence index rose from 6.4 points to 7.9 points, reported state news wire MTI.   

A HUF 40 billion test track for both traditional and self-driving cars will be unique not only in Hungary but in Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Zalaegerszeg, western Hungary, where the cornerstone of the investment was laid on Friday.   

Sales of top beer brewers in Hungary could rise by 2%-2.5% this year from 6.7 million hectoliters in 2016 if the summer is warm and sunny, business daily Világgazdaság reported on Friday, citing data from the Association of Hungarian Brewers (MSSz).   

In January–March 2017, average gross monthly earnings amounted to HUF 281,900 in Hungary, according to a first release of data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). In the first three months of the year, both gross and net earnings grew by 11.0% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Military spending in Hungary will reach 1% of GDP in 2018 and the government will make a commitment to raise the rate to 2% by 2024, János Lázár, the head of the Prime Ministerʼs Office, said at his weekly press briefing on Thursday, as reported by Hungarian news agency MTI.

Assets managed by members of the Association of Hungarian Investment Fund and Asset Management Companies (BAMOSZ) were up 1.1% in April from the previous month, to HUF 5.957 trillion, BAMOSZ said Thursday, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.

Home prices in Budapest rose at more than twice the national average in the three years till mid-2016, a growth disparity unmatched even by London, data from the National Bank of Hungaryʼs (MNB) Housing Market Report shows, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.