Czech June trade surplus swells, meets forecasts

...computers and other industrial equipment by 16.3 percent year-on-year.

The monthly surplus in exports and imports of merchandise goods rose to 9.3 billion crowns ($458.4 million) from 7.4 billion in June 2006, the statistics office said on Tuesday.

The figure was broadly in line with the market consensus forecast of an 9.5 billion crown surplus .

Overall exports grew a nominal 14.5 percent year on year while nominal imports were up 14.0 percent.

The crown, a popular source of cheap funds for investors because Czech rates are the lowest in the European Union, held flat at 28.075 to the euro by 0705 GMT. It has shed 2 percent in the year to date.

The rise in the country's foreign trade surplus has been fed by the influx of foreign direct investment into automotive, electronics and other manufacturing industries amd an economic recovery in key export markets in west Europe.

Germany's Volkswagen unit Skoda Auto and electronics makers such as Taiwan's Hon Hai and Japan's Matsushita have become leading Czech exporters.

The cumulative surplus for the past 12 months nearly doubled to 63.2 billion crowns, or 1.8 percent of 2007 forecast GDP according to Reuters calculations.

INSTANT VIEW OF MARCH TRADE DATA.............[ID:L07648705]

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]