Standard & Poor's downgrading means that Hungary is still within the category of investment grade, but only by a narrow margin.Continue reading
President of the Fiscal Council Árpád Kovács said on Thursday at the 53rd meeting of delegates of the Fejér County Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Székesfehérvár that Hungary can meet the Maastricht criteria for adopting the euro by the end of 2024 – reports Magyar Nemzet.
In a presentation entitled “Public Finance Positions and Prospects of the World and Hungarian Economy in the Spring of 2023“, Árpád Kovács underlined the fact that the consumer price index was 25.4 percent in February but could fall to around three percent by the summer of 2024.
Meanwhile, public debt could fall well below seventy percent by the end of next year, and the general government deficit could be around 2.9 percent.
In his forecast, he pointed out that Hungarian GDP could grow by around one per cent this year and between 3.5 and 4 per cent next year, while with inflation falling below ten per cent by the end of the year, a much better inflation environment is expected in 2024.
He said that
Hungary is currently in the bottom third of the EU ranking in terms of GDP per capita, ahead of Portugal and Slovakia, among others, but could be in the middle by 2029.
Árpád Kovács, President of the Fiscal Council and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Friends of Hungary Foundation
Árpád Kovács said that Hungary’s nominal GDP has been rising since 2020, not only because of inflationary effects but also because of volume growth. This year, the gross domestic product will be 78,000 billion forints, he added, according to the news agency. He also said that there is a huge drop in domestic retail sales, in consumer durables, electronics and food, which will have a negative impact on VAT revenues, which have been rising for years.
The role of the state is significant in investment, which is now showing a moderating trend, but is rising sharply in value terms due to price increases. There are also increases in the vehicle manufacturing and tourism sectors,” it said.
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