Trade surplus revised downwards

According to calendar-adjusted data, the export volume rose by 11% and the import volume by 8%.

In September 2019, the value of exports amounted to EUR 9.7 billion and that of imports to EUR 9.1 bln. The value of exports increased by 12% and that of imports by 7.7% in EUR terms. The balance of external trade in goods improved by EUR 358 million. (The surplus is EUR 27 million less than what was published in the first estimate.)

The forint price level of external trade in goods decreased by 0.3% in imports and went up by 1.6% in exports compared to the same month of the previous year. The terms of trade improved by 1.9%. The forint exchange rate weakened by 2.3% against the euro and by 8.4% against the dollar.

Machinery, transport equipment export and import grows

Calculated at prices in September 2018, the exports of machinery and transport equipment rose by 17% and their imports by 14%. The exports of road vehicles increased by one-third, while their imports by nearly one-tenth compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The growth on the import side was consistent with changes in trade in parts of motor vehicles and on the export side with changes in trade in passenger cars. The exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment were up by more than one-third and their imports by nearly one-third.

The increase in imports resulted from changes in trade in line telephone sets and their parts and in exports from changes in trade in radio navigational aid apparatus.

The exports of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, n.e.s., rose by nearly one-tenth, while their imports by more than one-sixth. The growth in exports was connected to trade in electric accumulators and their parts and in imports to trade in electronic integrated circuits.

The exports of power generating machinery and equipment grew by more than one-tenth and their imports by nearly one-fourth, which was mainly due to changes in trade in gas turbines in both exports and imports.

The export volume of manufactured goods went up by 4.2% and their imports by 3.1%.

The export volume of fuels and electric energy increased by 18% and their import volume by 28%. The increase in exports can be explained by changes in trade in electric current and in imports by changes in trade in petroleum, petroleum products and related materials.

The volume of exports of food, beverages, and tobacco grew by 9.6% and the volume of their imports by 1.6%. The increase in both exports and imports resulted from changes in trade in meat and meat preparations and in exports in addition to changes in trade in cereals and cereal preparations.

The volume of exports to EU Member States grew by 10% and that of imports from there by 5.7%. The surplus on external trade in goods went up by EUR 407 mln and amounted to EUR 1.1 bln. These countries accounted for 80% of exports and 73% of imports.

Extra EU trade up

In extra-EU trade, the volume of exports increased by 21% and that of imports by 25%. The balance of external trade in goods with this group of countries deteriorated by EUR 49 mln and showed a deficit of EUR 567 mln.

In the first nine months of 2019, the value of exports amounted to EUR 81.9 bln and that of imports to EUR 78 bln.

The volume of exports rose by 4.7% and that of imports by 5.9%, during the January-September 2019, compared to the same period of 2018. The surplus on the balance of external trade in goods went down by EUR 596 mln and amounted to EUR 3.9 bln.

The forint price level of external trade in goods was up by 1.5% in imports and by 1.7% in exports compared to the same period of the previous year. The terms of trade improved by 0.2%. The forint depreciated by 1.8% against the euro and by 8.1% against the dollar.