Scale of Disinflation Insufficient for Price Cap Rollback - Orbán

Government

photocosmos1 / Shutterstock.com

The rate of inflation has not slowed enough yet to allow the government to phase out price caps, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a weekly public radio interview on Friday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Asked whether disinflation is of a scale that would allow the rollback of price caps, Orbán said that it is "unfortunately not". "What's happened till now is too little," he added.

Orbán acknowledged price competition among food retailers, but said the range of products affected is "narrow".

"I hope that the fall in inflation will be more tangible in April...more general, wider...and we count on a more clear-cut fall in May and June," he said.

He said the few tenths of a percentage point decline in inflation is "reassuring, but unfortunately too little".

"Inflation is too high and the government must continue to work to bring it down," he added.

He pointed to steps authorities are taking to set up an online price-monitoring system, boost competition and protect consumers from overpricing.

The government earlier introduced price caps on some staples, such as milk, flour, eggs, and pork to ease inflation.

Hungary Account Deficit at EUR 561 mln in Q4 Debt

Hungary Account Deficit at EUR 561 mln in Q4

Moldovan Pensions to be Increased as of April 1 World

Moldovan Pensions to be Increased as of April 1

Schoenherr Names Miklós Klenanc as Head of Local M&A Practic... Appointments

Schoenherr Names Miklós Klenanc as Head of Local M&A Practic...

Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency to Host Summit Drinks

Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency to Host Summit

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.