Hungary had a EUR 293 million trade surplus in October, narrowing by EUR 232 mln from the same month a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data on Friday. In euro terms, exports increased by 6.5% and imports grew by 9.7% year-on-year in October 2018.

Employers and unions failed to reach an agreement on next yearʼs minimum wage rises at a meeting on Thursday, according to a report by national news agency MTI. In related labor news, a major protest over planned legislation affecting overtime is planned by unions for the weekend.

In October 2018, the volume of industrial output in Hungary grew by 5.9% year-on-year. Based on working day-adjusted data, production rose by 3.3%, according to a first estimate of monthly data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

The Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) said it would "closely monitor" developments in core inflation in the coming months, according to the minutes of the monthly policy meeting that took place on November 20, released on Wednesday.

In October 2018, the volume of sales in retail shops increased by 6.6% according to raw data, and by 5.7% adjusted for calendar effects, compared to the same month of the previous year, according to a first estimate of monthly retail data published Wednesday by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

Hungaryʼs gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a second estimate of data on Wednesday. The KSH raised the figure from 4.8% in its initial flash report on November 14.

Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said Hungary does not support what he described as a "concerning" proposal to establish a separate European Union budget for the eurozone at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, state news agency MTI reported.

On November 29, 2018, the Circular Economy Platform was officially established in Hungary as an initiative of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology.

Hungaryʼs seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managersʼ Index (PMI) fell to 53.5 points in November, down from a revised 57.1 points in October, the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (Halpim), which compiles the index, said on Monday.  

Economic research institute GKI has raised its projection for this yearʼs GDP growth to 4.5%, up from 4.2% in an earlier forecast.    Hungaryʼs GDP was up 4.7% year-on-year in Q1-Q3 2018, according to preliminary data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) in November.   

The government will spend at least HUF 150 billion on developments as part of the Hungarian Village program in 2019 in order to maintain or increase populations in rural areas, Gergely Gulyás, the minister heading the Prime Ministerʼs Office, said at the weekend, national news agency MTI reported.

Spending on research and development in Hungary amounted to HUF 517 billion, or 1.35% of GDP, in 2017, up 21.1% in current prices from a year earlier, according to a summary of data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), state news agency MTI reported.

Farmland prices continued to rise in 2017, increasing by an average of 5.6%, although the pace of price increases was slower than in 2016 when they rose by 22%, a summary of data just published by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) shows.

According to the official website of the Central Statistical Office (KSH), industrial producer prices as a whole were 6.4% higher this October compared to the same period of 2017, due to wage growth, oil price rise, and a weakening national currency.

Hungary’s tax-to-GDP ratio (the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of GDP) generated one of the biggest declines in the European Union, fresh data released by Eurostat shows. 

Hungaryʼs government has decided to allocate HUF 14.1 billion for doctorsʼ and nursesʼ pay rises next year and HUF 79.4 bln in 2020, Minister of Human Capacities Miklós Kásler announced on Thursday, as reported by state news agency MTI.

Investment volume in Hungary climbed 22.1% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported on Thursday. Growth accelerated from 15.3% in Q2, and 10.8% in Q1. In the first three quarters of 2018, investments grew 16.9% compared to the previous year’s high base.

The rolling three-month average number of unemployed people in Hungary in August–October 2018 was approximately 172,900, some 10,600 fewer than a year earlier, resulting in the jobless rate falling by 0.3 of a percentage point year-on-year to 3.7%, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported Wednesday.

Employers back a proposal by MPs of governing Fidesz to extend the period for accounting overtime and to raise the threshold for overtime hours, but they believe the motion should be made an option rather than a rule, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

The government will discuss a package of proposals approved by the National Competitiveness Council on Monday at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga told journalists after the councilʼs meeting, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.