Hungary’s economy in the third quarter expanded by 0.9% compared with the previous quarter, adjusted data show, and contracted by 0.4% year on year, based on unadjusted data, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday. Seasonally and calendar-adjusted data show it decreased by an annual 0.3%.
In the Q1-Q3 period, GDP contracted by 1.2% year on year. Márton Nagy, the economic development minister, said after the KSH release that restoring economic growth was “the next big task” after having curbed inflation. The ministry statement said that the economy began growing again in the third quarter, adding that Hungarian growth had outperformed most other EU member states in the quarter. He said the war in Ukraine and associated sanctions, as well as “profiteering by multinationals”, had battered the economy, businesses and families. Although quarterly growth was positive, the economy contracted on an annual basis, he noted, adding that the government still had work to do. Nagy referred to state-backed targeted loans under various schemes worth the equivalent of up to 1.5% of GDP, as well as the Factory Rescue scheme which subsidises energy-intensive businesses and frees companies from unfavourable energy contracts, among other measures.