Analysts were surprised by an acceleration in the increase (11.5 percent) of industrial production in February, but interpreted it as a positive development. It suggests that export-oriented industrial sectors are still doing well in Slovakia. Growth in February was faster by three percentage points than in January, while it was also faster (by 0.7 percent) than the average increase in the last quarter of 2007, VÚB Bank analyst Martin Lenko told the TASR newswire.
Eduard Hagara from ING Bank said that the slower dynamics in December 2007 and January of this year were caused by the holiday breaks in the production facilities. Slovak economic growth should thus continue, supported by both exports and domestic demand.
Results from March of the industrial trust indicator, according to Lenko, point to further industrial growth. “We expect growth in overall industrial production to remains high in March as well, somewhere around 10.5 percent," he added. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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