March industrial output down 10.4 percent

Adjusted for the number of workdays — of which there were three fewer than in the base period — output fell by 2.8 percent.

Output of all manufacturing sector branches declined, KSH said. Among the biggest segments, output of the automotive and electrical equipment segments fell “substantially”, while output of the food, drinks and tobacco segment dropped “to a lesser degree”, it added.

Month on month, output fell by 3.0 percent based on seasonally and working day-adjusted data.

In the January-March period industrial output declined by an annual 4.1 percent.

Commenting on the data, the national economy ministry said industrial output had been heavily impacted by the holiday shutdowns and the slowdown in Hungary’s export markets, particularly Germany.

The ministry said expanding industrial output was crucial to restarting and boosting economic growth. The industrial sector’s long-term recovery is aided by rising household consumption on the back of real wage growth and falling inflation, as well as the government’s investment-promotion measures, it added.