News
Czech industrial production up 2.0 pct in December /07. 02. 2012/
Czech industrial production increased year-on-year by 2.0 percent in December, higher than expectations of most analysts. Output was nonetheless 0.8 percent down on November following adjustments for working days, the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) reported on Monday. In November, the adjusted production growth was 2.7 percent.
For the whole of 2011, industrial production rose 6.9 percent compared with 2010 with new orders up 5.5 percent over the period compared with the previous 12 months. The biggest contributors to the production increase came from production of motor cars and trailers, up 21.2 percent, and machinery and equipment, rising by 12.3 percent.
Looking ahead, new orders in December were down 1.2 percent on the same month in 2010 with a 17.1 percent fall in domestic orders more than outweighing a 10.3 increase in export demand.
New orders for computer, electronic and optical goods companies were among the hardest hit, down 22.4 percent and for machinery and equipment by 43.1 percent. Production of the former fell by 26.9 year-on-year percent in December following a series of poor months and a total production slump of 9.8 percent in 2011. Throughout 2011 foreign orders were the main motor driving the Czech economy with demand up 12.1 percent, compared with a 5.1 percent drop in domestic orders.
Construction hangover
Separate figures released Monday confirmed the depth of the construction sector slump last year with a 3.1 percent drop in output compared with 2010. The total number of new contracts closed during the year was down 12.2 percent. The number of new flats where construction was started fell by 2.1 percent with 21.4 percent fewer completions.
In December, thanks largely to mild weather, construction output was up 16.2 percent year-on-year. Even so, new building permits were down 0.8 percent on December 2010 with their overall value down 27.3 percent.
Source: Czechposition.com, 06.02.2012. Full article can be found here.
