GDP rises by 4.9%
The volume of gross domestic product was 4.9% higher in Hungary in the 2nd quarter of 2019 than in the corresponding period of the previous year. Most industries contributed to the growth, market-based services and construction to the greatest extent. According to seasonally and calendar adjusted and reconciled data the performance of the economy was up by 5.2% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year and by 1.1% compared to the previous quarter. In the 1st half of 2019, gross domestic product rose by 5.1%.
In the 2nd quarter of 2019 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year:
The volume of GDP was up by 4.9%. Compared with the 2nd-quarter figure issued in the flash estimate, the raw volume index in the second estimate was unchanged, but due to a slight modification of data the previously measured rise in the seasonally and calendar adjusted and reconciled volume grew by 0.1 percentage point to 5.2%.
Production approach:
The performance of industry went up by 3.8%, within which that of manufacturing by 3.1% compared to the same period of the previous year. Among manufacturing branches, the largest contributors to the growth of industry were the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers and the repair and installation of machinery and equipment. The value added of construction increased by 28%, within which there was a marked increase in all the branches. The performance of agriculture lessened by 1.1% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Table 1: Volume indices of production of gross domestic product (GDP)
(corresponding period of previous year = 100.0%)
| NACE | Industry | 2018 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quarter | ||||||
| II | III | IV | I | II | ||
| A | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 105.6 | 103.2 | 108.3 | 97.3 | 98.9 |
| B–E | Manufacturing, mining and quarrying and other industry | 103.8 | 102.5 | 104.1 | 105.9 | 103.8 |
| C | Of which: manufacturing | 104.2 | 102.3 | 104.3 | 105.8 | 103.1 |
| F | Construction | 122.5 | 127.9 | 120.4 | 146.7 | 127.9 |
| G–T | Services, total, of which: | 104.5 | 104.2 | 103.9 | 103.8 | 104.2 |
| G+I | Wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food service activities | 107.8 | 107.4 | 107.9 | 106.5 | 107.5 |
| H | Transportation and storage | 104.1 | 104.4 | 103.7 | 102.9 | 105.0 |
| J | Information and communication | 105.8 | 105.6 | 107.3 | 106.5 | 105.9 |
| K | Financial and insurance activities | 102.7 | 102.6 | 102.0 | 103.0 | 103.6 |
| L | Real estate activities | 104.8 | 104.2 | 104.8 | 104.4 | 103.2 |
| M–N | Professional, scientific, technical and administrative activities | 106.8 | 106.6 | 105.3 | 106.7 | 106.5 |
| O–Q | Public administration, education and health and social work activities | 100.3 | 100.4 | 99.7 | 99.8 | 100.5 |
| R–T | Arts, entertainment and other services | 106.7 | 105.1 | 102.5 | 104.0 | 103.7 |
| GDP, total (at purchasers’ prices) | 104.9 | 105.1 | 105.1 | 105.3 | 104.9 | |
The gross value added of services was up by 4.2% in total, the highest growth (7.5%) was reached by wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food service activities. The value added of professional, scientific, technical and administrative activities rose by 6.5% and that of information and communication by 5.9%. The performance of financial and insurance activities was up by 3.6%. The total value added of public administration, education and health grew by 0.5%.
Services contributed by 2.2 percentage points, construction by 1.2 percentage points and industry by 0.9 percentage point to the 4.9% rise of gross domestic product in the 2nd quarter of 2019. The most significant contribution (0.7 percentage point) within services was observed for wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food service activities.
Expenditure approach:
The actual final consumption of households went up at a lower rate, by 4.3% compared to the same period of the previous year. Household final consumption expenditure, representing the largest proportion of the components of the actual final consumption of households, rose by 4.5%. The (domestic) consumption expenditure of households realised on the territory of Hungary was 4.8% higher than a year earlier. Within this, a higher-than-average growth was recorded in the volume of domestic consumption expenditure on durable goods (e.g. passenger cars, furniture, large electric household appliances: 12%) and semi-durable goods (e.g. clothing, small household appliances, parts for vehicles: 9.1%), compared with a lower-than-average rise for non-durable goods (e.g. food, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, electricity, gas and other fuels, water supply, medicine: 4.1%) as well as services (3.5%).
The volume of social transfers in kind from the government grew by 3.0% and that of the actual final consumption of the government by 1.7%. The volume of social transfers in kind from non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) was up by 5.6%.
As a result of the above trends, actual final consumption became 3.9% higher.
Gross fixed capital formation went on increasing substantially, it was 16% higher in the 2nd quarter than in the corresponding period of the previous year. The volume of investments in construction and in machinery and equipment both went up, the former at a higher rate. In the industries with the largest weight in total investments (manufacturing, transportation and storage and real estate activities) the volume of investments rose considerably.
Gross capital formation increased by 15% compared to one year earlier.
As a result of the trends of consumption and capital formation, domestic use as a whole became 6.6% higher in the 2nd quarter.
Table 2: Volume indices of final use of gross domestic product (GDP)
(corresponding period of previous year = 100.0%)
| Items of use | 2018 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quarter | |||||
| II | III | IV | I | II | |
| Household final consumption expenditure | 105.4 | 105.4 | 105.0 | 105.2 | 104.5 |
| Social transfers in kind from government | 100.2 | 100.2 | 101.0 | 102.2 | 103.0 |
| Social transfers in kind from NPISHs | 109.5 | 103.0 | 104.3 | 109.6 | 105.6 |
| Actual final consumption of households | 104.6 | 104.4 | 104.3 | 104.8 | 104.3 |
| Actual final consumption of government | 99.3 | 99.6 | 93.0 | 102.1 | 101.7 |
| Actual final consumption, total | 103.8 | 103.7 | 102.6 | 104.4 | 103.9 |
| Gross fixed capital formation | 115.6 | 120.0 | 117.2 | 123.4 | 116.4 |
| Changes in inventoriesa) | x | x | x | x | x |
| Acquisitions less disposals of valuablesa) | x | x | x | x | x |
| Gross capital formation, total | 113.4 | 120.8 | 120.7 | 105.7 | 115.0 |
| Domestic use, total | 106.0 | 108.6 | 107.2 | 104.3 | 106.6 |
| Exports, of which: | 107.1 | 102.3 | 105.6 | 107.7 | 102.7 |
| Exports of goods | 106.0 | 100.7 | 106.6 | 107.9 | 102.8 |
| Exports of services | 111.0 | 107.5 | 102.0 | 106.7 | 102.4 |
| Imports, of which: | 108.5 | 106.2 | 108.2 | 106.7 | 104.3 |
| Imports of goods | 108.8 | 105.8 | 108.8 | 107.5 | 105.0 |
| Imports of services | 107.0 | 108.3 | 105.4 | 102.3 | 100.7 |
| External balance of goods and servicesa) | x | x | x | x | x |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), total | 104.9 | 105.1 | 105.1 | 105.3 | 104.9 |
a) For these items the volume index is not applicable.
In the external trade of the national economy a surplus of 592 billion forints – lower than a year earlier – was generated at current prices. The increase of the import volume (4.3%) exceeded that of the export volume (2.7%). In trade in goods, exports were up by 2.8% and imports by 5.0%. Within the external trade of the national economy, the exports of services (including tourism) rose by 2.4% and their imports by 0.7% compared to a year earlier.
Actual final consumption contributed by 2.7 percentage points and gross capital formation by 3.4 percentage points to the 4.9% growth of gross domestic product in the 2nd quarter of 2019. Owing to the performance of trade in goods, the balance of external trade as a whole slowed down the growth of economic performance by 1.2 percentage points.
In the 2nd quarter of 2019 compared to the previous quarter, based on seasonally and calendar adjusted and reconciled data:
The performance of the economy went up by 1.1%.
From the production approach, gross value added grew by 0.5% in industry and by 1.0% in services.
From the expenditure approach, household final consumption expenditure increased by 0.9%, the volume of social transfers in kind from the government by 0.3% and that of the actual final consumption of the government by 0.2% out of the components of actual final consumption. Gross fixed capital formation was up by 2.7%. In external trade, exports decreased by 1.2% and imports rose by 0.2%.