BUDAPEST: The Hungarian government has raised its projection for GDP growth this year from 2.5% to 3.1%, state secretary Péter Benő Banai said on public television last week, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.
The projection was raised in light of favorable data, which was recently released, Banai said. The change coincided with the cabinetʼs submission of Hungaryʼs updated Convergence Program to the European Commission, he added. National Economy Minister Mihály Varga said late in March that economic growth could reach 2.8%-2.9% this year.
The updated Convergence Program, published on the website of the EC late Thursday, shows Hungaryʼs GDP reaching 2.5% in 2016, 3.1% in 2017 and 2.9% in 2018, while the general government deficit, as a percentage of GDP, could reach 2.4% this year, then narrow to 2.0% in 2016, 1.7% in 2017 and 1.6% in 2018.