FX.co ★ Hungary Retail Sales at 3-Month Low

In March 2025, Hungary experienced a modest 0.4% year-on-year increase in retail sales, a notable slowdown from the 3.3% growth recorded in February. This represented the slowest growth since December 2024, largely due to tempered sales in food, beverages, and tobacco (1.2% compared to February's 3.5%) and automotive fuel (0.1% versus 0.4%). Conversely, sales of non-food products saw an uptick, rising to 5.9% from 5% previously, with significant gains in sectors such as textiles, clothing, footwear, pharmaceuticals, medical products, perfumery, and furniture and technical goods. On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, retail activity declined by 0.5% in March, following a 0.6% decrease in February. Overall, during the first quarter of the year, retail trade rose by 2.7% compared to the same period in the previous year.