Central Bank Sees GDP Shrinking 6.0-6.5% This Year

MTI-Hungary Today 2020.12.15.

The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) expects the economy to contract between 6.0 percent and 6.5 percent this year, forecasts from its latest quarterly Inflation Report released on Tuesday show.

The central bank had forecast GDP contraction of between 5.1 percent and 6.8 percent in the previous report released in September.

The Finance Ministry expects GDP to fall by 6.4 percent this year.

Liszt Ferenc Airport Passenger Numbers at All-Time Low

Passenger numbers at Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc International Airport fell to 49,283 in November, down by an annual 96.1 percent, operator Budapest Airport said on Saturday. In the same month, the airport handled an all-time record 13,864 tonnes of air cargo, up 6.3 percent from last year, the operator said. The airport has also prepared refrigerated […]Continue reading

The NBH puts the average annual inflation rate for this year at 3.4 percent in the fresh report, below the 3.5-3.6 percent range in the September report.

The central bank forecasts a rebound to 3.5-6.0 percent growth in 2021, a little more muted than the 4.4-6.8 percent growth projected a quarter earlier. It puts GDP growth in 2022 at 5.0-5.5 percent and at 3.0-3.5 percent in 2023.

Retail Sales Fall 2.4% in October

Retail sales in Hungary fell by an annual 2.4 percent in October as vehicle fuel and non-food sales dropped, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Thursday. Adjusted for calendar year effects, retail sales declined by 1.9 percent. Adjusted food sales rose 1.2 percent, while non-food sales dropped by 1.2 percent and vehicle fuel sales […]Continue reading

The bank’s forecasts for inflation show CPI at 3.5-3.6 percent in 2021. It sees CPI falling to 2.9-3.0 percent in 2022 before reaching the 3.0 percent mid-term target in 2023.

featured image illustration via Attila Balázs/MTI