Retail sales in Hungary grew by 3.5% year-on-year in December 2025, accelerating from a 2.5% rise in the previous month. This was the highest increase since April, driven mainly by a faster rise in automotive fuel sales (1.7% vs 0.7% in November). Meanwhile, growth in food retailing eased (2.1% vs 2.6%), reflecting smaller gains in non-specialized food and beverage stores (3.3% vs 4.3%), which account for about 78% of total food retail sales. Non-food sales also slowed down (4.3% vs 4.6%), particularly in cosmetics (11.0% vs 14.1%) and mail-order and online sales (2.8% vs 11.7%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade rose by 0.2%, following a 0.1% increase in December. For 2025 as a whole, retail sales went up by 2.9%, higher than the 2.6% rise recorded in 2024.