BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Hungary's consumer price inflation slowed for the seventh straight in August to hit a one-year low on slowing food price growth, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office said on Friday.
Inflation slowed to 16.4 percent in August from 17.6 percent in July. The rate was the weakest since August 2022, when inflation stood at 15.6 percent.
Inflation continued to remain well above central bank's target of 2-4 percent. August inflation was slightly above economists' forecast of 16.2 percent.
The central bank expects inflation to decline to the single digit range during this autumn and to return to the tolerance band in early 2025.
Core inflation softened more notably to 15.2 percent in August from 17.5 percent in the previous month. The expected rate was 15.9 percent.
The slowdown in consumer price inflation was driven by the development in processed food prices. Food prices posted an annual increase of 19.5 percent, slower than July's 23.1 percent rise.
The rise in fuel prices curbed disinflation, the central bank said today. Data showed that fuel and power prices surged 34.7 percent after rising 35.7 percent in July.
From a month ago, overall consumer prices posted a 0.7 percent rise. This followed a 0.3 percent increase in July. Monthly core inflation was 0.2 percent, unchanged from July.
Food prices gained 0.3 percent on month as the government abolished food price caps in August.
ING economist Peter Virovacz expects a single-digit inflation rate at the end of the year. If there are no further price shocks, inflation will fall below 10 percent as early as November, the economist added.
The economist said the central bank may adopt a more hawkish stance than the market consensus after September, which could include leaving the effective interest rate unchanged for one or two months.
At the August meeting, the monetary council of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank had decided to retain the base rate at 13.00 percent and reduced the overnight collateralized lending rate by 100 basis points.
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