Analyst: Industrial Orders Go Up, Yet Outlook Remains Cautious

Bratislava, November 18 (TASR) - Orders in Slovakia's industry recorded growth in September similar to Germany's, mostly due to increasing foreign demand, but despite the overall positive trend, growth was seen only in five of the twelve monitored segments, and so the outlook remains cautious, 365.bank analyst Tomas Bohacek declared on Monday. "Even though we still expect similarly favourable data in the following autumn months, longer-term predictions ranging into 2025 are more cautious and, in our opinion, will depend on the extent to which trade barriers are introduced by the new US administration," stated the analyst. The anticipated tariffs might curb willingness among businesses to buy and keep products in stock and cause them prefer to procure only to satisfy real orders. On the other hand, if the new rules were clear, industry could adjust easily, and subsequently industrial orders in Slovakia might even start going up again. "That, however, probably won't happen before the spring. Hence, we have a cyclic development ahead of us, and we are currently sitting at the top of a growth wave," said Bohacek. Earlier in the day, the Statistics Office reported that the number of new orders in Slovak industry recorded year-on-year growth of 2.2 percent to reach a value of €5.95 billion in September, the second instance of growth this year and one that came on the heels of four consecutive months of y-o-y declines. mf/df