Forint broke a new psychological barrier today

The Hungarian forint has broken a psychological barrier this morning exceeding 390/EUR. And it seems the weakening of the Hungarian national currency will continue.

According to Portfólió, forint reached 390.3/EUR this morning. The last time the currency was this fragile was in last March. The national bank director’s and the finance minister’s grim statements had a negative effect on the forint. The question is whether PM Viktor Orbán will be able to reverse that trend with his opening speech of the parliament’s autumn session. Considering the US dollar, forint stands at 367, while in the case of the GBP, we are at 449.2.

Meanwhile, the Polish zloty started the week with strengthening, while the Czech koruna is still stagnating.

Gross wages are up, but inflation devours the increase

Gross wages in Hungary rose by an annual 15.2% in July, to 559,100 forints (EUR 1,434), the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Monday. According to index.hu, real wages are 2% down compared to last July’s figures, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office stated. That is because the average annual inflation reached 17.6 %. Real wages have been plummeting for 11 month straight.

The average net wage, including benefits, rose by the same pace to 371,800 forints, KSH issued. Real wages fell by 2.0%, calculated with a July CPI of 17.6%. The gross median wage increased by 16.3% to 450,000 forints (EUR 1,153.59) . Hungary’s statutory monthly minimum wage was raised by 16% to 232,000 forints (EUR 594.74) for unskilled labourers and by 14% to 296,400 forints (EUR 759.83) for skilled workers on January 1.

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