Trade surplus EUR 662 m in July

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary’s trade surplus came to 662 million euros in July, a first reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday shows.

The surplus expanded by 24 million euros from the same period a year earlier.

Exports fell by an annual 5.2 percent to 7.283 billion euros in July. Imports were down by 6.0 percent at 6.621 billion euros.

About 79 percent of exports went to other European Union member states and the same percent of imports came from the EU.

In January-July, the trade surplus reached 6.038 billion euros, up 893 million euros from the same period a year earlier. Exports rose by 1.9 percent to 53.719 billion euros and imports edged up by 0.2 percent to 47.681 billion euros.

KSH will publish detailed July foreign trade data on September 30.

Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppán said exports could start growing again for the rest of the year as carmakers update their product palettes and demand for vehicles is strong in Europe. This and lower oil prices could bring the trade surplus to 9.5 billion euros for the full year, he added.

Source: MTI