Hungary’s trade surplus falls in 2019

The Hungarian trade surplus fell in 2019 to 4.9 billion euros (5.4 billion U.S. dollars), after reaching a record 5.5 billion euros in 2018, according to the report of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) released on Tuesday.

“In January-December 2019, the surplus on the balance of external trade in goods amounted to 4.9 billion euros, 665 million euros less than a year earlier,” KSH said.
Exports, mainly in the automotive sector, rose 4.2 percent to 108.9 billion euros, while imports rose 5.7 percent to 104 billion euros, according to KSH.

“In December, the surplus was 114 million euros, the balance deteriorated by 267 million euros compared to December 2018. According to calendar-adjusted data, the export volume went down by 4.1 percent and the import volume increased by 1.7 percent,” KSH added.

“Foreign trade balance surplus has been declining since 2017, mainly due to strong import demand linked to strong domestic investment and consumption dynamics,” Hungarian economic news portal Portfolio said following the publication of the KSH report.

“No one expects further significant deterioration.

There are two main reasons for this: on the one hand, due to the production capacities that have been built up in recent years, the export prospects are good, and on the other hand, the slowing down of investment may reduce the growth of import demand,” Portfolio added.(1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars)

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Source: Xinhua – Budapest