The Czech Republic's industrial output decreased by 3.8 percent year on year in June after four consecutive months of growth, primarily due to a decline in car production and the high comparison basis of last year, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) said today.
In both April and May, Czech industry firmed by more than 3 percent in year-on-year comparison.
Compared with the previous month, industrial output decreased by 2.8 percent.
"Industry decreased both in year-on-year and month-on-month terms in June. The biggest contribution to the overall decline came from car production, metal production and the energy sector," CSU statistics department head Iveta Danisova said.
"The value of new orders decreased by almost 10 percent," she added.
Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers saw a drop of 3.9 percent, production of fabricated metal products went down by 5.9 percent, and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply decreased by 6.5 percent.
In contrast, production of rubber and plastic products increased by 5.7 percent, manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products rose by 7.1 percent, and production of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations grew by 8.6 percent.
A year-on-year decrease in June was also recorded in sales, the value of orders and the average number of employees.
Sales from industrial activity at current prices decreased by 3.8 percent year on year, a drop being seen in both exports and domestic sales.
The value of new orders declined by 9.9 percent. While non-domestic new orders decreased by 11.3 percent, domestic new orders decreased by 6.8 percent.
The average registered number of employees in industry decreased by 0.6 percent year on year, their average gross monthly nominal wage rising annually by 4.7 percent.
In Q2, industrial output grew by 0.8 percent, sales rose by 3.3 percent and the value of new orders grew by 0.8 percent. The number of employees, on the other hand, decreased by 0.5 percent, their average wage rising by 6.6 percent.
