The total value of new orders in the Slovak industry increased 12.7% y/y to EUR 3.9bn in November 2013, speeding up from a 10.5% y/y rise in October, data from the statistics office showed.

New orders in the vehicles manufacturing industry, which accounts for almost half of total orders, rose 15.1% y/y in November, accelerating from a 10.4% annual growth the month before. Slovakia hosts car plants run by Germany’s Volkswagen, France’s PSA Peugeot-Citroen and South Korea’s Kia Motors.

The manufacture of computers, electronics and optics, the second most important sector for Slovakia’s export-oriented economy, recorded an 8.1% annual increase in November following a 5.9% y/y growth in October.

On a monthly basis, seasonally-adjusted industrial orders rose 0.4% in November, following a 0.3% growth in October.

For the first eleven months of the year, the value of new industrial orders rose 2.9% y/y to EUR 39.6bn.

IntelliNews comment: The Slovak industrial orders rose for the third month in a row in November thanks to improved performance of the auto and computer manufacturing industries that are the two most important sectors for the country’s economy. Exports, industrial output and sales also showed an improvement in November. As the new orders data provides an insight into the future, we could expect the manufacturing industry to strengthen further in the near term. Slovakia’s export-fuelled economic growth slowed down to an estimated 0.9% in 2013 but is expected to accelerate to around 2% in 2014.