KSH attributed the May drop to the high base and projects that wound up at the end of last year, the deadline for spending grants available during the previous European Union funding cycle. Output of the buildings segment was down by 4.4% and civil engineering output dived by 43.8%. In absolute terms, construction sector output reached 141.9 billion forints (EUR 452.3m) in May.

In a month-on-month comparison, construction sector output edged up by 0.8% in May, adjusted for seasonal and workday effects after rising by 2.0% in April. In absolute terms sectoral output was 544.9 billion forints in January-May. Analyst Péter Virovácz of ING Bank noted that, in spite of the continued substantial twelve-month output decline, there are promising signs in the sector such as the month-onmonth output growth and the increase in the volume of new orders.

László Balogh of real estate portal ingatlan.com also said the volume of orders in the building segment suggests that the construction sector could start growing in the coming months.

He added that the sector’s structure is changing and the buildings segment, which includes housing construction, could play a bigger part in the future.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.