Production of automobiles in Slovakia was the predominant factor that contributed to the 8.4-percent year-on-year growth in the industrial sector in the first two months of 2012, the Slovak Statistics Office announced on April 11, the TASR newswire reported.
"February's data confirmed a solid performance by Slovak industry, especially the industrial manufacturers," stated VÚB bank’s macroeconomist Andrej Arady, as quoted by TASR, adding that this growth bucks the trend of a European-wide slowdown. Arady said automotive manufacturing was the most significant factor in increasing year-on-year growth in industrial production from 3 percent in January to 10.7 percent in February.
"Overall, despite the January slump in automobile production, Slovakia's industrial sector was ... pushed by the production of transport vehicles," the economist said, adding that first quarter results for 2012 are expected to be better than the original estimates.
"Sentiment indicators in Europe hint at the revival of our most significant trade partners, which has already translated positively into the performance of Slovak industry," said Ľubomír Koršňák, an analyst at UniCredit Bank Slovakia. Koršňák thinks the automotive sector will again serve as flagship of Slovak industry this year due to the increased production capacities here.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
