February inflation 3.6 percent

Food prices edged up by 0.7 percent, while household energy prices went down by 3.1 percent.

Motor fuel prices increased by 2.3 percent.

Services prices increased by 9.9 percent, while consumer durables went down by 1.8 percent.

Commenting on the data, Marton Nagy, the national economy minister, said inflation had “disappeared just as fast as it emerged”, arguing that CPI had “collapsed” to one-seventh of last year’s rate.

In addition to the base effects, the decline in inflation was also impacted by the lower repricing rates at the beginning of the year, Nagy said.

Household energy prices decreased by 3.1 percent compared with last year, with Hungarians paying 6.9 percent less for gas and 3.2 percent less for electricity, the minister said.

Nagy said real wages had been rising again since last September’s turnaround, thanks to the continuous fall in inflation. This has led to the return of consumer confidence and growing consumption, he said, adding that the government’s aim was to restore economic growth this year and boost it further in 2025.