In February, GKI’s economic sentiment index stayed virtually at its January level, that is, at its 40-month low. Business expectations deteriorated slightly, whereas consumer ones im-proved somewhat. The business confidence index has been on a downward trend for one and a half years. The consumer confidence index was fluctuating and stagnating during this period of time. Although this year it was in the lower zone of the narrow band characteris-tic of the past two years, it still reflects strong optimism.
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More actors are now expecting a price drop than a rise in residential market
In January of 2020, the GKI–Masterplast residential market indices for Budapest and Hungary stood at 6 and 7 points respectively. Budapest index decreased by just 1 point (within margin of error), the national index went down by 3 points compared to the previous survey (in October 2019). The capital index went down by 17, the other one decreased by 16 points compared to the survey made one year earlier. Thus, a relatively slight change on a quarterly basis means a significant decline on an annual basis.
Fast GDP growth with deteriorating equilibra
The Hungarian economy expanded by a rate of around 5 per cent in 2019, one of the fastest in the EU. Although the October-November data do not yet indicate a slowdown, the deterioration in industrial expectations is a warning signal. The growth rate of construction slowed down markedly, whereas wage growth and retail sales accelerated. At the same time, macroeconomic equilibria were worsening, inflation accelerated, the forint fell spectacularly, the general government deficit went up and the current account turned to deficit. The spreading coronavirus is already exacerbating the global economy through its fear-inducing effect. GKI expects a GDP growth of around 3-3.5 per cent in 2020.
GKI’s economic sentiment index started the year with a slight decrease
To a lesser extent than in December, the GKI economic sentiment index continued to decline in January, reaching its lowest level for more than three years. The current contraction is the result of worsening consumer expectations, as the decrease in business expectations was only minimal after its major fall in December. The GKI economic sentiment index and business confidence index have been on a downward trend for one and a half years, with the consumer confidence index fluctuating and stagnating; however, the latter also reached its one and a half year low in January.
GKI’s economic sentiment index ended the year at its lowest point in the past three years
In December, GKI’s economic sentiment index was slightly lower than in October, which had been the lowest level until then this year, thus falling to its three-year nadir. According to the empirical survey conducted by GKI (www.gki.hu) with the support of the EU, this was the re-sult of marked deterioration in business expectations as consumer expectations improved slightly. The trend was clearly deteriorating in business expectations in 2019, whereas that of consumer expectations was typically stagnant, with some monthly fluctuations.