So while a high level of the terms of trade continues to add to the level of national income, we can no longer expect that a rising terms of trade will be adding to growth in living standards. We are entering a new phase. This is not so much because of the “end of the mining boom”.
The crisis last September had gravely impacted the Hungarian economy at nearly all levels. The sustainability of the debt path became uncertain, external financing resources dried up, the risk premium expected from Hungarian instruments dramatically increased, and we had to face a free fall in external demand in the real economy – all this happening at the same time.