Investment volume down 6.3 percent in Q4

Quarter on quarter, volume dropped by 5.5 percent based on seasonally adjusted data.

KSH noted that investments by the state, households and businesses all declined.

In the full year, investment volume increased by 1 percent.

Commenting on the data, the ministry of economic development said Hungary’s economy grew by 4.6 percent last year, with investments and employment reaching record highs, despite 2022 having been “the most difficult year since the change of regime, with war, sanctions, energy crisis and inflation weighing on the Hungarian economy”.

Investment volume grew to 15,409 billion forints (EUR 40.7bn) in 2022 from 12,526 billion in 2021, the statement said. The 1 percent volume growth also shows continued trust in the Hungarian economy, as companies went ahead with planned investments, it said.

While the processing industry and real estate deals drove economic performance, investments of public bodies fell by 16 percent, as the government froze investments to fund measures protecting people from growing utility prices, the statement said.

“To avoid recession and for the economy to rebound next year, economic policies must focus on investments and exports,” the statement said.