Czech industrial production grew 4.4 percent y-o-y in September, with electricity and gas production combining with automobile production to boost the indicator. The Czech Statistics Office said that cold weather had resulted in higher demand than last year for heating, producing greater energy consumption. Compared to August, however, industrial output fell 5.8 percent, including construction, however retail sales were up.
September’s figures suggest that the residential market is slowing, however. The number of apartments begun in September fell 4 percent to 2,420. “I see the slower rate of starts as the first signal of a slowing market,” Next Finance’s Vladimír Pikotra told Czech Television. “We’re at the top right now…Less will be built for residential, so construction will be driven more by large commercial projects.” As a whole, after six months of growth, construction fell 1.1 percent y-o-y.
