Slovakia's trade balance turned to deficit in July as imports outpaced exports

⑴ Slovakia posted a trade deficit of 800,000 euros in July, compared to a surplus of 216.5 million euros in the same period the previous year, and well below the market expectation of a 9.62 million euro surplus. This is the first deficit recorded since January. ⑵ Imports rose by 9.4% year-on-year to 9.0628 billion euros, mainly driven by nearly an 11% increase in purchases of machinery and transport equipment. Imports from the EU grew by nearly 13%, while those from non-EU countries increased by approximately 4%. ⑶ Exports increased by 6.6% to 9.0620 billion euros, primarily boosted by a more than 6% rise in shipments of machinery and transport equipment. Exports to the EU grew by nearly 7%, while exports to non-EU countries also grew by nearly 7%. ⑷ From January to July 2026, the country’s trade surplus widened to 1.6551 billion euros from 1.4584 billion euros in the same period of 2025.