Slovak industrial sales increased for the sixth month in a row in February 2014 and at a slightly faster pace than in January, data from the statistics office showed. Sales in the second month of 2014 increased by 4.4%, up from a 4.3% y/y growth the month before.

The February increase was underpinned mainly by an 8.3% rise in the manufacturing sector and a 7.5% hike in water supply sector. Sales in the mining sector fell by 4.3% y/y, while the utilities sector posted a 13.5% drop.

The auto manufacturing sector (which accounts for more than a quarter of total industrial sales) reported an 8.8% annual growth in February sales, easing from a 13.9% y/y hike in the previous month. Sales of computers, electronics and optics (another important driver of the country’s export-oriented industrial sector) rose by 23.1% y/y, speeding up from 15.8% in January.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the industrial sector turnover in February fell by 1.5% m/m, following a 1.5% rise in the previous month.

IntelliNews comment: Slovakia’s industrial sales have been rising for six consecutive months, a trend expected to continue throughout 2014 helped by the rising foreign demand. Slovak industrial sales rose 0.5% y/y in 2013, easing from a 6.2% expansion in 2012 mainly due to faltering demand from abroad. Last year, the sales of computers, electronics and optics fell by 4% y/y, while the automotive industry posted a 5.9% annual growth.