BUDAPEST, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Hungarian consumer confidence deteriorated for a third month in a row in October as households turned more pessimistic about their own financial situation, a survey showed on Friday.
Think tank GKI’s consumer sentiment indicator dropped to -34.2 points in October from -31.1 points in September and -29.6 points in August.
GKI said consumer confidence, which plunged by 38 points in April in the midst of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, rose by almost 23 points in the May-July period. Then it fell again in August-October as fears of a second wave of the pandemic strengthened.
“The trend is worsening,” GKI said.
GKI said households turned more negative about their own finances in October and their concerns about unemployment have been increasing at an accelerating speed.
However, their opinion about their future ability to save improved slightly in October.
Earlier this week, retail data showed that calendar-adjusted retail sales HURETY=ECI declined by an annual 0.7% in August after a 0.4% growth in July.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said Hungary’s economy could return to its early 2019 levels in the first half of 2022, with the recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown being slower than previously expected.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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