The volume of Hungary’s retail trade has been rising for the thirteenth consecutive month and it was up by 2.5 percent in July 2014, Minister of State for Economic Regulation Béla Glattfelder said, commenting on the latest data released by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH). The Minister of State stressed the fact that people are spending more is a sign that the financial situation of households have improved and confidence in the performance of the country’s economy has increased.

Higher turnover has been the result of improving labour market situation, the growth of wages in real terms, favourable inflationary processes and the Government’s measures to boost household consumption, he emphasised.

In July 2014, the volume of retail sales was up by 1.5 percent at stores of food, beverages and tobacco products, by 3.3 percent at non-food stores and by 3.4 percent at filling stations. In July, retail sales turnover increased by HUF 25bn year-on-year, totalling some HUF 800bn. Hungary’s performance is also remarkable from an EU perspective: the 2.5 percent increase within the Hungarian retail sector is well above the 1 percent average of the European Union.

As Béla Glattfelder pointed out, the steady growth trend in place for more than one year is going to continue. This tendency has been underpinned, among other factors, by the gradual acceleration of economic expansion which, through higher incomes, is fuelling household spending and retail sales. Accordingly, besides exports domestic consumption has also been contributing to economic growth and due to this sound growth structure the expansion of GDP is expected to remain sustainable in 2014 and 2015, he added.

(Ministry for National Economy)