BUDAPEST, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's annual inflation rate rose to 2.0 percent in October from 1.6 percent in September, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday.
Consumer prices increased by 0.4 percent month-on-month, while core inflation rose to 2.1 percent year-on-year. The rate is a hair above market expectations that tabled it to 1.9 percent.
The rise in inflation was driven partly by higher fuel prices, which increased by 11.3 percent compared with October 2025 and by 3.0 percent from September.
Services prices rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, food prices declined by 1.1 percent compared with a year earlier, while household energy prices fell by 4.3 percent, including an 11.2-percent decrease in natural gas prices.
Finance Minister Andras Karman said in a Facebook post that higher fuel prices were the main factor behind October's inflation increase, contributing 0.2 percentage points to the monthly consumer price index.
Karman said the government's forecast for average annual inflation in 2026 remained broadly unchanged, adding that Hungary's inflation performance compared favorably with that of other European Union countries.
Orsolya Nyeste, senior macroeconomic analyst at Erste Bank, said the October figures were broadly in line with market expectations and indicated limited underlying upward price pressure in the Hungarian economy.
She attributed the monthly increase largely to seasonal factors and higher fuel prices, but warned that unfavorable base effects, tobacco excise tax increases and rising food prices could push inflation higher in the coming months.
Erste Bank expects annual inflation to reach 2.4 percent by the end of 2026 and rise "well above 3 percent" by mid-2027.
The central bank's benchmark interest rate currently stands at 5.5 percent. ■