Decline in Hungarian Construction Activity

Portfolio Hungary has this today:

n April 2007 the volume of the construction activity decreased by 3.7% according to unadjusted indices and by 6.4% adjusted seasonally and by working days from April 2006 Hungarian Central Statistical Office reported on Tuesday. In the first four months the output exceeded the level of the same period of 2006 by 1.2%. The pace is significantly slower compared to March, when output grew by 3.3%.

The decrease in April was caused by the fall in the production of road-builder enterprises. The output of division building of complete constructions and civil engineering decreased by 5.2%, related to April 2006, but the production of building installation rose by 5%. According to unadjusted indices the construction of buildings went up by 5.6% but that of civil engineering fell by 14.8% from same month a year ago. From the beginning of 2007 construction of buildings rose at a slight pace, by 2% while that of civil engineering was at the level of the previous year.