Hungary: Economic sentiment nosedives in January amid worsening consumer confidence
The GKI economic sentiment index, a composite indicator, continued to decline in the first month of 2020 and tumbled from minus 1.1 in December 2019 to minus 2.5 in January. Thus, it marked the marking the worst reading in over three years. January’s nosedive mainly reflected a marked deterioration in consumer sentiment.
Consumer confidence worsened significantly in January, with the index falling to minus 12.5 from minus 8.4 in December, marking an over two-year low. Households assessed their personal finances in the year ahead markedly worse in January, while they appraised their savings capacity slightly more negatively than a month ago.
Business confidence decreased to 1.0 in January from 1.5 in December. January’s deterioration largely reflected a deterioration in sentiment in the industrial sector, while confidence in the construction and trade sectors remained broadly stable. Meanwhile, confidence in the services sector rose modestly in January.