Growth was the same when adjusted for seasonal and calendar year effects.

Growth was driven mainly by services, especially professional, scientific, technical and administrative activities, KSH said. Industry also contributed to growth after a long period of weighing on GDP, it added.

In a quarter-on-quarter comparison, seasonally- and calendar year-adjusted GDP rose 0.8pc.

KSH will publish a detailed reading of the data on June 2.

ING Bank chief analyst Peter Virovacz called the fresh data a "positive surprise", but said services' contribution to growth was expected. He added that growth in technical services may have been supported by residential developments launched with the Home Start subsidised credit scheme for first-time home buyers.

Erste Bank macro analyst Janos Nagy said economic activity could benefit as political uncertainty resolved. The positive contribution of industry to headline growth indicates a "massive rebound" in industrial output in March, he added.

KSH will release a first reading of March industrial output in a week.

Nagy said growth may also have been lifted by government welfare measures ahead of the election.

Looking ahead, Nagy pointed to the positive impact of local battery manufacturing capacity expanding in the second half of the year as well as the possible release of Hungary's frozen European Union funding.

Photo: Pixabay.com

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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