Czech Republic Trade Surplus Narrows in April

The trade surplus in the Czech Republic sharply narrowed to CZK 6.8 billion in April 2026 from CZK 18.3 billion in the same month last year. Imports rose 8.9% year-on-year to CZK 427.3 billion, driven primarily by higher purchases of mineral fuels and lubricants (24.6%) and chemical and related products (14.4%). Meanwhile, exports increased 5.7% to CZK 434.1 billion, as gains in crude materials (5.9%), mineral fuels and lubricants (7.1%), and machinery and transport equipment (6.0%) partially offset declines in animal and vegetable oils (-10.2%), food and live animals (-1.8%), and beverages and tobacco (-0.6%). For the January-April period, the trade balance reached a surplus of CZK 77.3 billion, lower than the CZK 94.7 billion surplus recorded in the same period a year ago, with exports rising 3.4% and imports increasing 4.8%.

The trade surplus in the Czech Republic widened to CZK 31.9 billion in March 2026 from CZK 28.1 billion a year earlier, coming in well above expectations of CZK 19.8 billion. This marked the largest trade surplus since March 2024, as exports climbed 6.5%, driven by increased sales of machinery and transport equipment (+5.7%), manufactured goods by materials (+5.7%), chemicals and related products (+8.8%), mineral fuels and lubricants (+15%), and food and live animals (+6.8%). Meanwhile, imports rose at a softer 6.0% to CZK 427.2 billion, attributed to higher purchases of mineral fuels and lubricants (+20.9%), chemicals and related products (+8.4%), food and live animals (+8.4%), machinery and transport equipment (+4.2%), and crude materials (+6.3%). In the first three months of the year, the trade surplus narrowed to CZK 73.0 billion compared to CZK 74.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.

The trade surplus in the Czech Republic sharply narrowed to CZK 19.3 billion in February 2026 from CZK 30.3 billion a year earlier, coming in below market expectations of CZK 27.7 billion, as imports rose faster than exports. Imports climbed 5.2% year-on-year to CZK 388.0 billion, driven by higher purchases of crude materials (+6.9%), manufactured goods (+4.4%), and machinery and transport equipment (+11.4%). Exports rose at a softer 2.0% to CZK 407.3 billion, as declines in food and live animals (-0.5%), crude materials (-5.0%), and mineral fuels and lubricants (-19.0%) partially offset gains in beverages and tobacco (+5.5%) and machinery and transport equipment (+5.0%). For the first two months of 2026, the cumulative trade surplus reached CZK 39.6 billion, down CZK 8.6 billion from the same period last year, with exports rising slightly by 0.2% and imports increasing by 1.4%.