BUDAPEST: Hungary’s foreign trade surplus decreased in December from a year ago, as imports grew faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed Thursday.
According to details, the trade surplus fell to EUR 556 million in December from EUR 638 million in the corresponding month last year. Economists had expected the surplus to drop to EUR 575 million.
Exports grew 7.7 percent year-over-year in December and imports climbed by 9.9 percent. The share of European Union member states was 75 percent in exports and 76 percent in imports.
For the whole year 2016, total trade surplus of the country was EUR 10.0 billion versus EUR 8.6 billion in 2015. Both exports and imports rose by 3.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.