Hungary retail sales rise 5.5pc in March, KSH confirms

Budapest, May 25 (MTI) – Retail sales in Hungary grew by 5.5 percent in March from the same month a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) confirmed in a second reading of data on Wednesday.

Retail sales rose by an annual 4.2 percent, adjusted for calendar year effects.

The pace slowed from an unadjusted 6.7 percent and a calendar year-adjusted 6.6 percent rise in February.

Adjusted food sales were up 1.9 percent in March, non-food sales climbed by 7.6 percent and fuel sales increased by 5 percent.

For the first quarter, retail sales rose by an unadjusted 4.7 percent and an adjusted 4.3 percent year on year. Adjusted food sales climbed by 1.8 percent, non-food sales rose by 7.2 percent and fuel sales were up 6.1 percent.

Economy ministry deputy state secretary Zoltán Marcinkó noted that the statistics show that retail sales have been continually growing for 33 months. He told public news channel M1 that there has been an increase in the consumption of food and also non-food products, and fuel.

The increase is expected to slow down but consumption and retail sales are likely to continue growing in the remainder of the year, he said. More people hold jobs, people make more money and so they spend not only on daily items and food but also on fuel and travel, he added.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters