Hungary's Economy Picks Up A Bit Of Speed In Q2 2008

Hungary's gross domestic product grew by 0.6% quarter on quarter in April-June, according to first estimate seasonally and calendar impact adjusted figures released today by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) . Q-o-q GDP growth in the previous quarter was revised up to 0.6% from the previous 0.3%. So effectively the Hungarian economy has maintained the same pace in Q2 as in Q1, and the increase in the y-o-y number is simply a product of the low base effect in Q2 last year.

Economic growth in Q2 was 2.2% yr/yr according to unadjusted data and 2.1% according to figures adjusted for calendar impacts. The comparative figures in Q1 were +1.7% yr/yr (unadjusted) and +1.0% yr/yr (adjusted). This latter figure has been revised upwards from 0.9%.




The Statistic Office told Reuters that the production side estimates shows that:

# agricultural output performed better than expected,
# the government sector also expanded particularly the health care services,
#the construction sector stopped contracting

The statistics office will publish a detailed breakdown of the data on 5 September, but it is not unreasonable to assume that the better-than-expected result was mainly a product of a stabilisation in the contraction in retail sales and construction, an improvement in theagricultural sector and a higher net exports contribution