Hungary’s construction sector output fell by an annual 20.1% in January, the steepest decline in years, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said. Output of the buildings segment was down 12.6%, but civil engineering output plunged by 28.5%. KSH attributed the drop to the high base and projects that wound up at the end of last year, the deadline for spending grants available during the last European Union funding cycle.
In absolute terms, construction sector output reached 73.2 billion forints (EUR 236m) in January. In a month-on-month comparison, construction sector output was down 13%, adjusted for seasonal and working-day effects. K&H Bank chief analyst Dávid Németh said the drop in construction sector output was expected as EU funding tapered off. A pickup in home construction as well as the new EU funding cycle will support the sector this year, though output is still expected to drop, he added.
KSH also said that the volume of Hungary’s general industrial output declined by 0.2% in January 2016 compared to the same month of 2015. Although the volume of industrial export sales increased by 1.0%, production declined in six of the thirteen subsections of manufacturing. Export of transport equipment, representing more than one third of manufacturing exports, declined by 2.5%, while the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, the export volume went up by 18.7%.
via hungarymatters.hu and ksh.hu