December trade surplus smaller than expected

Food

Hungary's December trade surplus was smaller than expected, analysts told MTI on Friday.

Hungary had a €325 million trade surplus in December and a surplus of €6.886 billion for the full year, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said in a second reading in the morning. KSH revised the December surplus down €27 million and the full-year surplus down €71m from the first reading. 

BudaCash Brókerház analyst Bálint Török said the full-year surplus was smaller than expected, adding that a slowing tendency seen throughout the year was confirmed in the December data. He said the surplus would be supported by the start of production this year at German carmaker Daimler's plant in Kecskemét, but he added that it would increase at a slower rate until growth starts up again on Hungary's biggest export markets in Europe. 

Erste's Zoltán Árokszállási also said the December surplus was slightly smaller than expected. He added that the latest indicators give reason for optimism and projected the surplus would grow to more than €8 billion in 2012.

SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL

Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.

Support the BBJ