IN MARCH, Slovakia recorded a foreign trade deficit for the first time this year. Following Sk6 billion and Sk5 billion surpluses in the first two months of 2008, the country posted a deficit of Sk1.091 billion in March. This was a year-on-year (y/y) improvement of Sk338 million. In the January-March period, Slovakia’s foreign trade showed a cumulative surplus of Sk10.417 billion, up Sk 5.6 billion y/y, the Slovak Statistics Office announced on May 12.
Exports of goods grew by 4 percent y/y to Sk124 billion in March and imports of goods rose 3.7 percent to Sk125 billion. On a cumulative basis, Q1 exports went up by 14 percent y/y, to Sk382 billion, and Q1 imports increased 12.6 percent, to Sk371.6 billion.
