NBH deputy governor: Hungary economy robust!

Hungary’s economy is robust, with first-quarter growth estimated over 8 percent, which could put full-year growth around 4 percent, Barnabás Virág, deputy governor of the National Bank of Hungary, said on Thursday.

While the tight monetary policy remains, it is moving from the “aggressive” phase to the “gradual”, Virág told the Bankszektor 2022 conference organised by business daily Világgazdasag.

Virág augured a “protracted” fight against inflation and said CPI could peak in the third quarter.

He said average annual inflation could be “around 9-10 percent” this year.

At a monthly policy meeting late in April, the central bank’s rate-setters had put average annual inflation “in the upper third” of the 7.5-9.8 percent forecast in the NBH’s latest quarterly Inflation Report.

Hungary’s year-on-year CPI rose to 9.5 percent in April.