Slovak foreign trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 347.7mn in February 2012, 96% higher compared to February 2011, preliminary data from the statistics office showed. The office revised up the January surplus to EUR 263.9mn from EUR 229.3mn. The annual growth of exports accelerated to 8.7% in February from 8.3% in the previous month, but was far below the January 2011 level of 28.4%. Imports growth slowed to 5% y/y in February from 8.2% y/y in January. IntelliNews comment: Slovakias foreign trade recorded a huge surplus of EUR 2.4bn last year, up from EUR 778.5mn in 2010, on the back of reviving economic activity mostly in the first half of the year, which affected mainly exports, as the driving force of the countrys economy is production of cars and electronics, sold chiefly to Germany. The revival of domestic demand and household consumption, however, lagged behind, as the central European country is plagued by huge unemployment of nearly 14%. Exports rose 16.9% last year and imports grew 13.6%. We can expect imports to grow slower or even contract this year due to reduced consumption of Slovak households amidst an expected rise in unemployment. The development in exports will depend on the extent of the economic stagnation in the eurozone, as nearly four-fifths of the total Slovak exports are directed towards the single European market.
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