Czech industrial production increased by 0.2% year-on-year (chart) and fell by 1.1% month-on-month in June, according to the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO). This is down from the 2.2% y/y growth registered in May, as the industry maintained slight growth mainly due to impactful automotive production.

“The industrial production stagnated y/y in June,” commented Radek Matějka of the CZSO in a statement. He added that “a slightly positive result was mainly supported by an increase in manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers and related economic activities: manufacture of rubber tyres and manufacture of electrical equipment.”

Manufacturing of other non-metallic mineral products also registered growth, while negative influence came from electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, “where electricity production decreased mainly in coal power plants,” statisticians noted.

The value of new orders at current prices fell by 3.3% y/y, with non-domestic orders falling by 6% and domestic new orders up by 1.7%. The value of new orders also fell by 2.9% m/m.

“The value of new orders decreased mainly in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers,“ stated CZSO’s Veronika Doležalová, adding that “a decrease continued in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of basic metals, and in the manufacture of wearing apparel.”   

Local analysts do not expect a significant revival in the country’s industry amid unstable international trade in the second half of the year.

“Domestic industry closed down the second quarter with a weaker performance partly because of the waning effect of the strong American demand driven by tariff pre-sales,” Dominik Rusinko, an analyst at KBC’s local branch ČSOB, was quoted as saying by the Czech Press Agency (CTK).

The average number of employees in the industrial sector dropped by 1.9% y/y in June.

CZSO also published figures from the Czech construction sector, which increased by 14% y/y and by 2.6% m/m in June.  

“Construction output continued in its double-digit growth,” Matějka stated, adding that “it was driven by the civil engineering construction,” while “building construction wasn’t left behind either”.

Civil engineering construction rose by 20.3% y/y while building construction was up by 10.3%.

The approximate value of issued building permits fell by 9.5% as “the decrease took place rather in the segment of large constructions with the budget over CZK1bn (€40.7mn),” noted CZSO’s Petra Čuřínová, and that “in smaller construction, the approximate value dropped by 2%.”

The number of completed dwellings amounted to 3,775 in June, or an increase of 40% y/y, while the number of started dwellings was 2,637, a drop of 2.5%.