Commenting on the data, Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppan said industrial output had outperformed expectations thanks to better supply chain performance.Continue reading
Industrial output in Hungary grew by an annual 3.6 percent in March, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data on Friday.
Adjusted for the number of workdays, output climbed 4.2 percent, KSH said.
For the period January-March, industrial output rose by 5.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Month on month, output edged down a seasonally and workday-adjusted 0.1 percent.
KSH said automotive sector output “fell significantly” in March. Output of the other two big manufacturing sector segments — computers, electronics and optical equipment, and food, drink and tobacco products — rose over headline growth, it added.
Magyar Bankholding chief analyst Gergely Suppan said output growth “exceeded all expectations” in March. He said supply chain interruptions remained a “significant risk”, not only for the automotive sector, but for companies turning out aluminium or artificial fertilizer. Magyar Bankholding analysts put full-year industrial output growth around 5-6 percent, amid “marked uncertainty”, supported by base effects and new capacities, he added.
ING Bank senior analyst Péter Virovácz said the slowdown was “hardly a surprise”, given the series of automotive industry scale-backs after the outbreak of the war as companies faced parts shortages.
Featured photo by Péter Komka/MTI