Hungary’s annual inflation rate inched up to 1.3% in August 2026 from 1.2% in July, when it had reached its lowest level since November 2016. The uptick was mainly fueled by higher prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (3.2% vs 2.9% in July), consumer durables (1.5% vs 1.8%), and other goods, including fuels (1.2% vs 0.3%). Price growth also accelerated in services, where inflation rose to 5% from 4.7% in the previous month.
In contrast, prices fell further for food (-1.4% vs -1.1%), clothing (-0.2% vs 0.6%), and household energy (-4.3% vs -4.3%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.2%, recovering from a 0.1% decline in the prior period. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile categories such as food and energy, edged up to 2% in August from 1.9% in July.
