Hungary's soaring inflation becomes a political challenge for Orbán

On February 11, Jinshi Data reported that the speed of inflation in Hungary is far beyond expectations, testing the hawkish policy of the Central Bank and becoming a political issue for Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán before the general election. Data released by the Hungarian Statistical Office on Tuesday showed that consumer prices in January rose by 5.5% year-on-year, the fastest growth in 13 months, higher than the 4.6% in December last year. Despite the Central Bank of the country previously stating that price increases would peak in January and then cool down, the latest data highlights concerns that people’s inflation expectations may stabilize at levels higher than expected. This may also bring pressure to Orbán, as the cost of living crisis looms just over a year before the tense general election. The ruling party led by Orbán lags behind in opinion polls, and he has declared victory over inflation as high as 26% two years ago. However, many Hungarians are not convinced.