February trade surplus revised down to EUR 816 mln
In February 2019, the volume of exports was up 6.5% and that of imports 6.6% higher than in February 2018, shows a second reading of external goods trade data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). The surplus was EUR 816 million, EUR 26 mln less than one year earlier.
In the first reading, published on April 8, the KSH had put the surplus at EUR 891 mln.
In terms of value, exports rose 6.2% to EUR 9.058 bln in February, while imports rose 7.3% to EUR 8.242 bln. Both growth rates were revised down from the first reading.
Hungaryʼs terms of trade worsened by 0.9% from February 2018 as forint import prices rose 2.9%, while forint export prices rose 2.0%. The forint weakened by 2.1% against the euro and by 11% against the U.S. dollar in one year.
The import volume of machinery and transport equipment rose 7.7%, imports of food, drink and tobacco increased 7.4%, and energy imports rose 5.2% in the twelve months to February 2019. The import volume of manufactured goods was up 5.4%.
The export volume of machinery and transport equipment rose 9.0%, exports of food, drink and tobacco rose 7.7%, and exports of manufactured goods rose 2.7%. Energy exports fell 11%.
Trade with other European Union member states accounted for 82% of Hungaryʼs exports and 76% of the countryʼs imports.
In January-February 2019, exports rose by 6.4% both in volume and in euro terms, to EUR 18.062 bln. Imports increased by 7.7% in volume terms and by 8.5% in value to EUR 16.854 bln. The surplus thus narrowed by EUR 241 mln year-on-year to EUR 1.208 bln, the revised figures show.
The terms of trade deteriorated by 0.9% in the first two months as export prices rose 2.7% and import prices rose 3.6% in forint terms. The forint weakened by 2.8% to the euro and by 11% to the dollar in the January-February period.
A first estimate of data for the external trade in goods in March 2019, and for the first quarter of the year, will be published on May 9, with a second, more detailed estimate to follow on May 31.
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