Slovakia: Industrial production contracts at sharpest pace on record in April
Industrial production dropped 42.0% year-on-year in April (March: -19.6% year-on-year). April’s result marked the worst reading on record as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on activity.
April’s reading was largely driven by a sharp decrease in manufacturing output which fell at the sharpest pace on record amid suspension of production at four of the country’s car plants and restrictions at subcontractors in the automotive sector as a whole. In addition, mining and quarrying production also contracted.
On a monthly basis, industrial output dove 26.7% in seasonally-adjusted terms in April, which was notably below March’s 20.3% fall. The reading marked the worst result on record. Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 6.9%, down from March’s minus 2.9%.