PRAG (dpa-AFX) - The Czech Republic's industrial production growth moderated for the second straight month in January, while retail sales growth accelerated to 9-month high, separate reports from the Czech Statistical Office revealed on Thursday.
Industrial production climbed 2.8 percent year-on-year in January, slower than the 4.9 percent expansion in December. Moreover, this was the weakest increase since October 2025.
The slowdown in growth was mainly due to a 1.9 percent contraction in the mining and quarrying output. The annual growth in manufacturing production eased to 2.3 percent from 5.8 percent. Meanwhile, the overall upturn was driven by a sharp 7.0 percent rebound in utility sector production.
On a monthly basis, industrial production declined 2.6 percent.
Separate data showed that construction output fell 1.5 percent annually and by 0.8 percent monthly in January.
The yearly sales growth in retail sales, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles, quickened to 5.0 percent from 1.8 percent. Further, this was the fastest increase since April 2025, when sales had risen 5.4 percent.
Sales from non-food goods rose 7.8 percent, and automotive fuel sales were 7.3 percent higher. Meanwhile, the sales growth in food items was only 0.3 percent in January versus 0.7 percent in December.
Monthly, retail sales climbed 1.0 percent at the start of the year.
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