Industrial output rose 5.8% yr/yr in July, and 8.4% according to figures adjusted for working days, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) announced last Thursday, quoting final data. Output from June was up 1.2% according to seasonally and working-day-adjusted figures, versus a fall-off of 1.5% in June. Industrial production in the Jan.-July period grew 5.9% y/y.

Gross wages rose 7.6% y/y in July, while net wages jumped 9.1% in the same period from a year earlier, the KSH said. Gross wages in the first seven months leaped 10.4%, and net wages were up 11.2% compared to a year ago.

Consumer prices inched lower by 0.4% in August, bringing the yr/yr inflation rate to 3.6% and the year-to-date rate to 3.7%, the KSH said. The August figure came in 0.2 percentage points below previous expectations.

Some 1.9 million foreign guests stayed at commercial accommodations in Hungary in the first seven months of the year, up 7% year-on-year, according to the KSH. Tourists from abroad spent over 5.94 million guest nights at hotels during Jan.–July, up 2.4% from the same period in 2004.

In the first half of 2005, business services exported by Hungary totaled Ft 307 billion, up 3.6% from the year-ago period, the KSH said. Meanwhile, the value of imports swelled to Ft 443 billion, up nearly 30% year-on-year.

Hungary’s Customs and Excise Duty Office (VPOP) recorded net revenue of Ft 551 billion in the first eight months of the year, accounting for 14.6% of central budget revenue during this period. The revenues make up 66% of VPOP’s annual target.