Hungary's economy stalled in second quarter

Hungary's economy showed no growth between the first and second quarters of this year, the Central Statistical Office reported on Thursday, according to dpa. Furthermore, in year-on-year terms, gross domestic product (GDP)was up only 1.5 per cent between April and June. The official data confirmed preliminary figures issued in August,which had prompted the government to hold an emergency meeting earlier this week to address a looming 100-billion-forint (500-million-dollar) hole in this year's budget. The government announced on Tuesday that it had lowered its official GDP growth forecast for 2011 from 3 per cent to 2 per cent.Nevertheless, it remains committed to reducing national debt and reducing the budget deficit to within the European Union's official limit of 3 per cent of GDP this year.