Hungary: Economic sentiment drops to three-and-a-half-year low in March
The GKI economic sentiment index, a composite indicator, declined for the fourth month straight in March and dropped from minus 2.6 in February to minus 4.5 in March. Thus, it marked the worst reading in three-and-a-half years. March’s fall chiefly reflected a deterioration in business expectations.
Business confidence dropped to minus 1.8 in March from 0.7 in February, marking a near six-and-a-half year low, due to lower confidence across all sectors, although the fall in the services sector was moderate.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence was stable at minus 12.1 in March as households assess their personal finances in the coming year slightly more negatively than they did a month ago, but appraised their savings capacity somewhat better.