Home ›› 09 Jun 2022 ›› World Biz
Hungarian inflation hit 10.7 percent Wednesday according to official data, the first double figure reached in 20 years, despite a range of price caps fixed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Annual inflation in May, up from 9.5 percent in April, was the fastest increase since 2001, with most consumer basket items like food and consumer goods rising year-on-year by over 10 percent.
Hungary’s central bank MNB said Wednesday that household inflation expectations also “showed unusually high volatility”. To fight inflation and steady the forint currency that has been plunging against the euro the MNB has raised its base interest rate by almost five percentage points since last year, to 5.4 percent.
Orban’s government has also fixed petrol and diesel prices at 480 forints ($1.32) per litre since November.
Prices of several basic foodstuffs including flour, sugar and cooking oil were also capped earlier this year.
Since February the energy crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine have fuelled rapid price increases in food markets across Europe.
