The annual inflation rate in Hungary slowed to 2.1% in January 2026 from 3.3% in the previous month, below market expectations of 2.4%. This marked the lowest level since March 2018, mainly driven by softer price increases for food (1.3% vs 2.6% in December 2025), alcoholic beverages and tobacco products (6.3% vs 7.1%), household energy and heating (6.2% vs 8.9%), and services (5.0% vs 6.8%). Additionally, costs continued to decline for other items and fuels (-3.5% vs -2.4%). On the other hand, inflation rose at a faster pace for consumer durables (2.9% vs 2.7%), while it remained steady for clothing items (at 1.6%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.3% in January, compared with a 0.1% increase in each of the previous two months. Annual core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, eased to 2.7% in January from 3.8% in December 2025, marking the softest reading since January 2019.