Hungary’s economy expanded by 3.5% y/y in the first quarter of 2014, speeding up from a 2.7% y/y rise in the previous three months, the statistics office said in a flash estimate. The reading overshoot market expectations as analysts polled by Portfolio.hu poll were expecting a 2.7% GDP hike.
On a quarterly basis, the GDP grew by 1.1% in Q1, also speeding up slightly from a 0.7% q/q rise in Q4 2013.
The statistics office, which is due to release detailed GDP figures on June 4, said the economic growth was supported by expanding manufacturing and construction sectors.
Hungary was one of the top performers in the EU with seasonally adjusted GDP growth of 3.2% y/y in Q1, data from the Eurostat showed. The country was preceded by Romania (3.8%) and Poland (3.5%).
In light of the better-than-expected Q1 GDP data, the annual economic growth in full-2014 could exceed by 0.3-0.6pps the government's 2.3% GDP growth projection, the economy ministry commented.
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