Hungary’s economy expanded by 1.7% y/y in Q3 2013, speeding up from a 0.5% y/y rise in the previous quarter, the statistics office said in a flash estimate. The reading surprised the market, as the consensus forecast of analysts, polled by portfolio.hu, was for a 0.8% y/y increase in Q3.
On a quarterly basis, the GDP grew by 0.8% q/q in Q3, also accelerating from a 0.4% q/q rise in Q2.
Hungary was one of the top perfumers in the EU with seasonally adjusted GDP growth of 1.6% y/y in Q3, data from the Eurostat shwoed. The country was preceded by Romania (4.1%), Latvia (3.9%), Lithuania (2.2%) and Poland (1.7%).
The statistics office, which is due to release detailed GDP figures on December 4, said the economic growth was due to expanding agricultural, manufacturing and construction sectors.
The Hungarian government is targeting an annual growth of 0.7% in 2013, above the European Commission’s forecast of just 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the economy ministry said it expecta GDP growth to accelerate further to 2.5% q/q in Q4 2013, while the full-year growth could even surpass 1% y/y.
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