Hungarian construction output recovered slightly in July, but economists are still spooked by depth of the fall off in June. Contractors reported a rise of 4 percent in business compared to June according to the Central Statistics Office, which was not enough to make up for the 7.3 percent decline that hit the sector in June. The new report finds railway construction work along with road building was reponsible for the uptick in work. It is likely significant that such projects receive EU funding. New orders in July fell 17.8 percent compared to the same period last year. Such numbers, depressed for a full quarter now, are seen as a warning that no improvement in construction figures can be expected in the short-term. Tempering this view is the fact that orders for the year are still 52 percent above last year.
