Slovak industrial output speeds up, seen strong

...said the car and electronics sectors would support solid 
production performance throughout the year. 
    The Statistics Office said industrial output rose by a real 
14.9 percent in April, compared with an annual increase of 12.6 
percent in March. Analysts had expected a 15.1 percent rise. 
    Manufacturing, which has the strongest weighting in the 
index, was up 18.1 percent on the year, after 15.8 percent 
growth in March. 
    "Such strong growth will continue in the coming months, at 
least in the car sector," said Tatra Banka analyst Juraj 
Valachy. 
    He said the impact of summer holidays and maintenance at the 
country's car plants would be visible only in the third quarter. 
    Car production, a key driver of Slovakia's economy, rose by 
69.6 percent from a year ago, after an 83.1 percent jump in 
March. Analysts expected even stronger performance ahead. 
    "Kia had strong output in May, in line with an all-time peak 
in the industrial confidence indicator, suggesting that we are 
about to see strong activity numbers," said Lucia Steklacova, 
senior analyst at ING Bank in Bratislava. 
    Production at assembly plants of PSA Peugeot Citroen 
, Kia Motors  and Volkswagen  is key 
to the country's overall economic performance and foreign trade 
balance. 
    In a separate release, data showed April retail sales edged 
up 6.2 percent on the year, up from 6.0 percent in March. 
Analysts said the figures mirrored trends in wage and employment 
growth. 
    Real industrial wages rose by 5.5 percent on the year in 
April, while construction output slowed to 14.1 percent from 
16.1 in March. 
  
  Keywords: SLOVAKIA ECONOMY/OUTPUT