BUDAPEST, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 3.2 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2017, from 4.2 percent in the first quarter, according to a preliminary estimate released by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) here on Wednesday.
Market-based services contributed the most to growth in the second quarter, KSH said.
The volume of GDP rose by 3.7 percent in the first half of 2017 compared to a year earlier, KSH added.
"The data is in line with preliminary expectations, as last year's GDP growth was the strongest in this period, which is why the data presented now are lower than the first quarter," the Ministry of National Development said in a statement.
The economy is expected to grow faster in the second half of 2017, due to the rise in the EU subsidies and the Home Creation Program, as well as the six-year wage agreement and tax cuts, the ministry added.
The ministry also said that the economic growth was on a sustainable path and that the public debt of Hungary was constantly decreasing.
For 2017 as a whole, the Hungarian government is expecting a growth of 4.1 percent.
