BRATISLAVA, September 9, (WEBNOVINY) — The growth rate of sales in the Slovak industry slowed down significantly in July. While in May it grew at a 16-percent y/y pace, two months later, industrial sales rose only 2.6 percent, reaching EUR 5.592 billion. In June, the y/y growth represented 9.4 percent. The slowdown in July can be ascribed to the development in industrial manufacturing, where sales grew only 0.7 percent y/y as opposed to 8.7 percent in June. Furthermore, mining and extraction of mineral raw materials decelerated from June’s 13.5 percent to 2.3 percent in July. The growth of sales in energy supplies reached 18.9 percent, while in water supplies and wastewater treatment they fell 15.1 percent. Overall growth of sales in July was the lowest level since December 2009, according to data released by the Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic.
The Statistics Office further reported that sales in July rose the most in the production of means of transport (+6.7 percent). Sales further grew in production of rubber and plastic and other non-metallic products (+12.1 percent), in production of coke, refined crude oil products (+12.1 percent), and in production of metals and metal structures other than machinery and equipment (+6.5 percent). Sales in production of computers, electronic and optical devices dropped the most (- 40.7 percent). Month-on-month, sales in July fell 5.4 percent from June.
The y/y growth rate of sales in the construction sector represented 3.8 percent y/y in July, while sales amounted to EUR 841.9 million, up 0.2 percent m/m. The growth rate of sales in the transport and storage sector represented 3.4 percent y/y on sales of EUR 517.3 million, down 1.4 percent m/m. Sales in the ICT sector rose 6.7 percent y/y to EUR 380.3 million, down 0.7 percent m/m. Sales in selected market services were 12.8 percent higher than a year ago at EUR 816 million, which was 1.2 percent more than a month ago.
In the January-July period, sales in industry grew 12.7 percent y/y to EUR 43.674 billion. Sales of construction firms rose 1.8 percent to EUR 4.544 billion. Sales in transportation and storage totaled EUR 3.643 billion on an increase by 10.3 percent. Sales in the ICT sector grew 4.7 percent to EUR 2.695 billion. Selected market services posted seven-month sales of EUR 5.449 billion, up 13.6 percent.
On Thursday, the Statistics Office released data on July industrial production, which suggested weakening of industrial sales. The July growth of industrial output of 5 percent was the weakest since late 2009.
For the whole of 2010, industrial sales in Slovakia grew 19.2 percent to EUR 67.5 billion.
SITA
