Hungary's retail sales grew by an annual 6.2 percent in June, increasing for the third month in a row after eight months of declines.
The Central Statistical Office (KSH) said sales in June increased by an annual 5.8 percent, based on calendar year-adjusted data. Adjusted food sales increased by 7.2 percent and non-food sales grew by 3 percent. Vehicle fuel sales increased by 8.6 percent. Sales of clothing and footwear rose by 18 percent.
Commenting on the KSH release, Péter Cseresnyés, State Secretary of Trade Policy at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM), said the data largely reflected growth levels last seen before the previous spring, and the fresh impetus to tourism and the economy more broadly was likely to put retail sales on a sustainable upward path. He noted that e-commerce had maintained its robust position, and online and parcel sales exceeded HUF 100 billion each month in six of the past eight months. “Employment is at a record high … and real wages have been rising for more than 100 months,” he said.