The total value of new orders in the Slovak industry increased 9.2% y/y to EUR 3.59bn in January 2014, easing from a revised growth of 12.4% y/y in December, data from the statistics office showed.

New orders in the vehicles manufacturing industry, which accounts for almost half of total orders, rose 9.7% y/y in January, after increasing by a revised 20.2% y/y 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 12.5% annual growth in January, slower than December's hike of 17.6% y/y.

On a monthly basis, seasonally-adjusted industrial orders rose 6.1% in January after falling by a revised 3.4% in December.

In 2013, the value of new industrial orders rose 3.5% y/y to EUR 42.7bn.

IntelliNews comment: Albeit at a weaker pace, Slovak industrial orders continued to increase in January rising for the fifth month in a row mainly on the back of expanding auto and computer manufacturing industries that are the two most important sectors for the country’s economy. 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 industrial output (working-day adjusted) growth quickened to 12.9% y/y in January 2014 from 12.7% y/y in December, while the annual growth in industrial sales eased to 4.3% from 5.8%. Slovakia’s export-fuelled economic growth is expected to accelerate to between 2.0% and 2.3% in 2014 from 0.9% in 2013.