Slovak March industrial output growth eases, outlook sound

...Wednesday, but analysts 
expect further rapid growth for the rest of the year. 
    The Statistics Office said industrial output rose by a real 
12.5 percent year-on-year in March, slowing from a revised 15.4 
percent in the previous month but still well above the European 
Union average. 
    Manufacturing production, which has the strongest weighting 
in the Slovak index, was up 15.7 percent on the year, after a 
20.4 percent increase in February. 
    "Although the data arrived below market expectations of 13.3 
percent, industrial output is expected to stay sound since its 
main driver -- car manufacturing sector -- will continue to 
improve this year as KIA and PSA increase their production," 
analysts at 4Cast London wrote in a market note. 
    Output in the car industry rose by 83.3 percent from a year 
ago, after a 101.2 percent rise in February and compared with a 
record 127 percent annual jump in January. 
    The automotive boom has accelerated in recent months as new 
assembly plants of French PSA Peugeot Citroen  and 
South Korean Kia Motors  gradually increase 
production. 
    "The foreign trade turnover should make net exports the key 
driver of economic growth," said Lucia Steklacova, the senior 
analyst at ING Bank Bratislava. 
    Steklacova expected 10.5 percent real GDP growth in the 
first quarter of this year, but said economic expansion could 
surprise on the upside. 
   

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]