"The economy continued to grow at a dynamic rate in the fourth quarter, although at a lower rate than in the previous two months," Ecostat said. "Growth was primarily due to the good performance of industry, construction and export-based services."
Taking into account possible margins of error, economic growth in Q4 is estimated between 3.9–4.3%, significantly lower than market expectations of 4.4%.
According to seasonally adjusted figures, GDP grew 0.9% in Q4 compared to the previous quarter. The Q4 growth rate of GDP brings growth for the year-to-date to 4.1% y/y, 0.5 percentage points lower than in 2004.
Official preliminary data will be published by the KSH on March 1.
Ecostat said the estimate is based on the GDP calculation methodology set by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, and adopted by Hungary's Central Statistical Office (KSH) in October 2005.
