Hungary’s Economy Defies Forecast for Slowdown as Industry Soars

Hungary’s industrial-output growth was double the pace of forecasts in January and, coupled with a surge in spending, is helping defy predictions for a slowdown after one of the fastest economic-growth rates in the European Union.

Industrial production rose 7.7 percent in January from a year earlier, the most in six months, the Budapest-based statistics office said Friday, based on preliminary data. That compared with an average forecast of 3.9 percent by six economists in a Bloomberg survey. Gross domestic product grew 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter from October-December 2013 and 3.6 percent in 2014, more than the 3.5 percent full-year preliminary estimate, the statistics office said.