Czech industrial output increased by 1.3% year-on-year and month-on-month in February, according to newly released data on April 9 seen by IntelliNews.

This is down on the revised 2.7% y/y registered in January and the third consecutive month of slowdown in industrial output, which nevertheless maintained growth since November on the back of the country’s strong car production.

“Manufacture of fabricated metal products and [the] car industry contributed the most to a positive result,” commented Radek Matějka of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), which released the figures.

In the negative direction, the development was influenced the most by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, where mainly planned shutdowns in some power plants were reflected,” Matějka added.

The value of new orders increased by 1.6% y/y, with non-domestic orders up by 2.5%, while domestic new orders dropped by 0.3%. The value of new orders fell by 6% m/m after a high January comparison basis in the car industry.

“The y/y growth of the value of new industrial orders was influenced the most by the manufacture of machinery and equipment, where there were more orders heading, for example, to the energy sector or to construction,” CZSO’s Veronika Doležalová commented.

The value of new orders fell in the car industry, the chemical industry, and the paper and textile industries.

CZSO also published figures on February construction output, which returned to growth of 4.1% y/y after falling by 1.5% in January, following fourteen months of consecutive growth. In m/m terms, the output was up by 0.8%.

Matějka highlighted that the y/y growth was “driven by the building construction,” while “the civil engineering construction recorded a y/y decrease”.

The building construction production rose by 7.8%, and the civil engineering, which includes the construction of highways and energy and telecommunication infrastructure, fell by 5.5% y/y. The number of issued building permits increased by 3.8%. The number of started dwellings rose by 45.9% and the number of completed dwellings by 20.8%.