Analyst: Slovakia's Foreign Trade Should Remain in Surplus in June

Bratislava, July 9 (TASR) - Slovakia's foreign trade is expected to remain in surplus in June, analyst at UniCredit Bank Lubomir Korsnak said in a commentary on the data on the May foreign trade balance published by the Statistics Office on Wednesday. "The development dynamics is mainly influenced by company-wide holidays during the summer, but on average, foreign trade should remain in surplus, while compared to last year, surpluses could expand slightly during the summer and autumn. Weaker domestic consumer demand, which will be dampened by fiscal consolidation, should be the main contributor," he added. Exports will recover only very slowly, he said, as they will still be hampered by weak and slowly recovering external demand, especially in the "domestic" European market, or higher US tariffs on cars. "On the other hand, car exports should be supported by the investment and model cycle of domestic car plants, while investment exports could show signs of recovery towards the end of the year under the influence of the European Central Bank's easy monetary policy, which should also gradually lift demand for investment goods in the euro area," he stated. According to Korsnak, gas imports remain a question mark with a significant impact on the foreign trade balance. Weaker current storage capacity suggests the necessity of higher gas imports just before the start of the heating season or during the winter. The Statistics Office reported on Wednesday that Slovakia exported goods worth €9.4 billion in May 2025, according to preliminary data, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent, whereas imports declined by 1.9 percent to €8.8 billion, which resulted in a trade surplus of €560.8 million - the highest since June last year. am