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Hungary's retail sales grow for 52nd consecutive month reflecting strong economy

Official figures show a strengthening economy and the government is expecting positive trends to persist, thanks partly to the six-year wage agreement

Hungary's retail sales grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year in October and have continued to rise for 52 consecutive months.

Official figures show a strengthening economy and the government is expecting positive trends to persist, thanks partly to the six-year wage agreement.

According to kormany.hu, since January 2010, the sector posted sales growth of 24.4 percent, while compared to the beginning of 2014 sales increased by 21.3 percent.

Non-food retailers grew by 9.7 percent. The volume of sales at specified and non-specified food retailers gained 3.1 percent year-on-year despite the fact that sales volumes in this sub sector had exceeded pre-crisis levels in 2014. The sales of fuels gained 7.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

What's more, labor market measures caused real wages to rise by 10.2 percent in Q1-Q3 2017, year-on-year. Household demand for services has also increased at a faster pace than retail sales growth and this may also signal the sector’s future expansion.