Year-on-year exports increased by 10.8 percent to CZK 421.6 billion and imports by 18.7 percent to CZK 447.1 billion. Month-on-month, after seasonal adjustments, exports increased by 0.8 percent and imports by 1.9 percent.

“A negative November trade balance is not unusual, the last month in 2011 was in the red zone. Since the beginning of 2022, it has been in the red zone ten times in a row. The balance deficit in the first eleven months of this year was close to CZK 200 billion,” said Stanislav Konvička, head of the trade balance department of CZSO.

In January to November 2022, the trade balance, namely the difference between exports from the Czech Republic and imports to the Czech Republic, shows a deficit of CZK 198.1 billion.

Meanwhile, in the same period in 2021, it ended with a surplus of CZK 7.3 billion. Since the beginning of the year, exports have increased year-on-year by 13.6 percent and imports by 19.3 percent.

The foreign trade balance with EU countries increased by CZK 14.5 billion year-on-year in November, while the trade deficit with non-EU countries widened by CZK 43.5 billion.

November’s foreign trade results were negatively impacted by a larger oil and natural gas trade deficit of CZK 11.1 billion due to rising prices on world markets and higher import quantities, statisticians said.

The electrical equipment trade balance worsened by CZK 10.3 billion and electricity trade by CZK 3.1 billion. On the other hand, a higher motor vehicle trade surplus of CZK 1.6 billion had a positive impact.