FX.co ★ Hungary Industrial Production, Retail Sales Fall Further

Hungary's industrial production decreased for the fifth straight month in May, preliminary figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed on Thursday.

Separate official data showed that retail sales also continued their declining trend in May.

The volume of industrial production dropped a working-day-adjusted 4.6 percent yearly in May, slower than the 5.8 percent fall a month ago.

The volume of production fell mostly in the manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products, as well as food products, beverages, and tobacco products, the agency said.

On a monthly basis, industrial production rebounded 1.6 percent in May, following a 2.5 percent decrease in the previous month.

On an adjusted basis, industrial production declined 6.9 percent in May compared to last year.

Retail sales fell sharply by 12.3 percent year-over-year in May, almost in line with the 12.7 percent plunge in the prior month. Sales have been falling since January.

Sales volumes decreased by 7.3 percent in specialized and non-specialized food shops, by 10.9 percent in non-food retailing, and by 25.9 percent in automotive fuel retailing, the data showed.

On a monthly basis, retail sales were down 0.8 percent on a seasonally and working day-adjusted basis.