The annual inflation rate in Hungary rose to 1.8% in March 2026 from a more than nine-year low of 1.4% in the previous month. Main upward pressures came from higher costs of alcoholic beverages and tobacco (5.5% vs 5.8% in February), fuel and power (4.3% vs 4.2%), services (4.1% vs 4.2%), and clothing and footwear (1.4% vs 0.7%). On the other hand, prices continued to decline for other goods, including motor fuels, down 0.7% after a 3.1% drop in February. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.4% in March, the sharpest increase since July last year, following a 0.1% gain in the preceding period. Meanwhile, annual core inflation rate, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, slowed to 1.9% in March, marking the softest rise since September 2018 and down from 2.1% in the prior month.