Hungary’s trade balance recorded a surplus of EUR 907 million in September 2026, up from EUR 641 million in the same month a year earlier and sharply beating market forecasts, which had pointed to a deficit of EUR 480.9 million. The improvement reflected exports growing faster than imports.
Exports rose by 20.9% year-on-year to EUR 16,250 million, largely driven by higher shipments of machinery and transport equipment. This strength was partly offset by lower exports of fuels and electric energy, as well as crude materials. Imports increased at a slightly slower pace of 19.9% to EUR 15,343 million, supported mainly by stronger purchases of machinery and transport equipment. These gains were partly counterbalanced by weaker imports of manufactured goods, fuels and electric energy, and food, beverages and tobacco.
Over the first nine months of 2026, the trade surplus narrowed to EUR 6.21 billion from EUR 7.66 billion in the same period of the previous year, as exports grew by 11.8% while imports expanded at a faster rate of 14.1%.
