Hungary: Inflation inches up in April
May 9, 2018
Consumer prices jumped 0.7% month-on-month in April, coming in well above the 0.1% increase observed in March. March’s print was largely driven by higher prices for food, and clothing and footwear.
Inflation inched up from 2.0% in March to 2.1% in April, moving above the lower band of the Central Bank’s target range of 3.0% plus or minus 1.0 percentage point. February was the only month since June 2017 in which inflation fell outside the target band. Annual average inflation in April remained unchanged at 2.2%.
Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile items such as fresh food and fuel, rose 0.6% month-on-month in April, up significantly from March’s subdued 0.1% increase. Lastly, core inflation inched up from March’s 2.4% to 2.5% in April.
Hungary Inflation Forecast
FocusEconomics panelists see inflation averaging 2.4% in 2018, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s projection. For 2019, the panel expects inflation to rise to 2.7%.