Auto exports drive Slovak industry up 2.7%: official data
BRATISLAVA, Aug 09, 2013 (AFP) Slovak industrial production, the engine of the economy, grew by 2.7 percent in June on an annual basis after a 2.6-percent rise in May, official data showed on Friday.
On a monthly adjusted basis, output of mainly German, French and Korean-brand auto exports to the eurozone added 0.3 percent following 0.2-percent growth in May, the Slovak Statistics Office said.
Production of cars and spare parts from plants operated by the German group Volkswagen, France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and Kia of South Korea grew by 1.3 percent in June after adding 3.0 percent in May, the data showed.
The plants pumped out a record 900,000 vehicles last year.
But analysts in Bratislava doubt that 2013 output will catch up to last year's figures, when a one-off jump was recorded as foreign-owned car plants in Slovakia launched new production lines.
Electronics production, mainly by South Korean company Samsung and the Taiwanese group Foxconn, struggled with a 1.0-percent contraction in June after falling by 9.4 in May.
Meanwhile Slovakia's exports contracted by 2.3 percent in June after adding 4.3 percent in May while imports contracted by 3.6 percent, the statistics office said.
Slovakia has one of the eurozone's fastest growing economies largely thanks to foreign investment in the auto sector. It posted a two-percent rise in gross domestic product last year.
But flagging exports to its recession-struck eurozone trade partners and weak domestic demand mean that 2013 growth forecasts are down to as low as 0.5 percent.
