Hungary: Inflation falls to lowest level since November 2022 in April
Inflation came in at 24.0% in April, which was down from March’s 25.2%. April’s figure marked the weakest inflation rate since November 2022. The moderation was largely due to falling prices for clothing and footwear. In addition, price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages declined at a faster pace.
The trend pointed up, with annual average inflation coming in at 20.1% in April (March: 18.9%). Meanwhile, core inflation fell to 24.8% in April, from the previous month’s 25.7%.
Lastly, consumer prices rose 0.67% over the previous month in April, moderating from March’s 0.81% increase. April’s result marked the weakest reading since December 2021.
Commenting on the release, economists at ING stated:
“Going forward, we expect both headline and core inflation to continue to retreat in the coming months. Given the slump in the volume of retail sales due to constrained purchasing power, we see further moderation in food, durable goods and clothing prices. As last year was crippled by HUF turmoil, recent forint strength will help the disinflationary process as well for these items. Barring a large spike in global energy prices, we expect motor fuel prices to further retreat in the coming months, along with household energy prices.”