Hungary's industrial output increased by 6.8% y/y in December 2013, speeding up from a 3.8% y/y growth in the previous month, the statistics office said on February 12 confirming the preliminary figures published a week ago. The manufacturing of transport equipment remained the key driving force.

In workday-adjusted terms, production grew by 4.4% y/y. Production adjusted for seasonal effects decreased by 1.9% m/m in December.

In unadjusted terms, industrial export sales grew by 12.9% y/y in December. This was mainly due to a 18.4% y/y growth in the exports of transport equipment segment, which represented nearly a third of the manufacturing exports. By contrast, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, which was the second largest subsection of manufacturing exports, declined by 15.8% y/y.

Industrial domestic sales dropped by 2% y/y in December, ending a three-month rising streak.

Overall, the output of the manufacturing sector increased by 8.6% y/y in December, while the mining and quarrying declined by 21.5% y/y and the energy sector registered a 14% y/y drop.

In aggregate terms, Hungary's industrial output increased by 1.4% y/y 2013, recovering from a 1.8% y/y drop in 2012.

Total new orders in manufacturing grew by 84.9% y/y in December, pushed up by a 93.4% y/y rise in the volume of new export orders and by a 24.2% y/y increase in domestic orders. The total stock of orders was up 12.8% y/y at end-December.