The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has raised its forecast for Hungary’s GDP growth this year to 7.7 percent.
In a biannual Regional Economic Prospects report published on Thursday, the forecast was raised from 5.5 percent in the previous report, published in June. Hungary’s government anticipates growth of around 7 percent for 2021. First-half GDP growth reached 7.6 percent. The EBRD sees Hungary’s GDP growth slowing to 4.8 percent in 2022.
The EBRD said a minimum wage rise of close to 20 percent and a personal income tax rebate, both scheduled for 2022, are expected to boost household consumption. Higher energy prices and the semiconductor shortage are negatively impacting the manufacturing sector, especially the automotive segment, which is expected to weigh on Hungary’s exports in the short term, it added. Investments co-financed with European Union funding are likely to boost the post-crisis recovery, the EBRD said, noting that the government recently issued the equivalent of 4.5 billion euros of FX bonds to pre-finance projects while the country waits for its Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plan to be approved.
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