All analysis from category Macro comment
Macro comment
PMI in April: a bad start to the second quarter
Business conditions in April were below the neutral 50-point mark indicating a decline in business activity for the twenty-third month in a row. Specifically, the manufacturing PMI index fell to 44.7 points in April from 46.2 points in March. So, not only is there no recovery in sight, but the decline is actually accelerating.
Macro comment
GDP in Q1 2024: Cautious recovery
Spring has arrived. Economic spring. The economy is slowly reviving. GDP increased by 0.5 per cent in Q1 compared with the previous quarter, and the economy's year-on-year performance rose by 0.4 per cent. This is certainly good news compared to the negative results last year, but in the long run, the growth of the economy is still very low. Moreover, despite the positive results at the beginning of the year, GDP is still 0.5 percent below the peak it reached at the end of 2019.
Macro comment
Consumer prices in March: Defiant rents and service prices
Price developments have moderated. Only rents and service prices are resisting and inflation in their prices is refusing to return to low levels. The consumer price index rose 0.1 percent month-on-month in March, with year-on-year inflation remaining at 2.0 percent.
Macro comment
Unemployment in March: seasonal decline in unemployment
The share of unemployed persons in the 15-64 population fell by 0.1 percentage point to 3.9% in March. This is an increase of 0.2 percentage point year-on-year. There were 289,000 jobseekers registered at the labour offices, 7,000 fewer than in February. After seasonal adjustment, we estimate that the jobless rate stagnated at 3.7%.
Macro comment
Foreign trade in February: growth in car exports
The balance of foreign trade ended in a surplus of CZK 34.6 billion in February. This is a year-on-year improvement by a very respectable CZK 19.7 billion. Exports grew sharply in February, by 10.2% year-on-year. Imports did not keep pace with the 4.9% year-on-year rate. The year-on-year advantage of one working day compared to February 2023 also did its part. On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports rose by 8.6% month-on-month and imports by 4.4%.
