The recent improvement in Slovak industrial output for September (+7.5 percent y-o-y) as reported by the Statistics Office on Monday is largely related to an overall revival in the Eurozone, and has made Slovakia the fastest-growing country in Central Europe, Tatra Banka analyst Boris Fojtik.
“This surprisingly good result is mainly due to developments in metal production. This sector had been inconspicuous in previous months, but it made up more than one-third of overall y-o-y growth in industry as a whole in September. The second-most significant contribution was due to electronics, with good months alternating with even better ones, and an almost 60-percent y-o-y increase recorded in September,” said Fojtik. “Industry may maintain relatively dynamic y-o-y growth in the final quarter of this year. Apart from a gradual recovery in European economies, this may also be aided by the lower comparison basis from last year,” said UniCredit Bank Slovakia chief analyst Ľubomír Koršňák. Home Credit Slovakia analyst Michal Kozub noted that this time it wasn't only the car industry that served as the workhorse of the national economy. VUB Bank analyst Andrej Arady pointed out that although growth in the car industry has stabilised at a relatively low level, car production has been contributing significantly towards overall output nonetheless.
