FX.co ★ Czech Industrial Production Declines In October; Trade Surplus Shrinks

In November, the Czech Republic experienced a decline in industrial production for the first time in three months, alongside a reduction in trade surplus due to faster import growth compared to exports, as reported by the Czech Statistical Office on Monday.

Year-on-year industrial production, adjusted for working days, decreased by 2.1% in October, countering the 1.6% rise witnessed in September. Among various sectors, utility output faced the steepest decline, contracting by 6.2% over the past year. Manufacturing output also fell by 1.9%. Nonetheless, a positive contribution originated from the mining and quarrying sector, which saw production increase by 5.2%.

On a month-to-month comparison, industrial output saw a decline of 0.7% in October.

In a separate release, the Czech Statistical Office reported that the nation’s trade surplus narrowed to CZK 11.0 billion in October, compared to CZK 14.3 billion in the same month the previous year. The trade balance in September showed a surplus of CZK 22.6 billion.

The total trade balance was adversely impacted primarily by a reduced trade surplus in machinery and equipment, according to the agency. Exports grew annually by 2.8% in October, while imports rose by 3.7%. On a monthly basis, exports and imports increased by 1.1% and 2.0%, respectively.

In other economic developments, the country's unemployment rate edged up slightly to 3.9% in November, from 3.8% in October. In November of the previous year, the unemployment rate was 3.5%. The Czech labor office also noted that the number of unemployed individuals reached 289,000 in November, down from 290,900 in the prior month.