The balance of trade came out slightly below forecast. For the markets the difference is probably not worth a reaction. Pace of growth decreased on both sides, exports and imports grew by 18.4 pct and 20.5 pct y-o-y respectively. However, the figures are still quite high. They are supported by a low base of Feb 2010, when the foreign trade had still not recovered from the previous fall. The base effect will be less and less favorable from March on, which suggests further deceleration of both export and import growth during the year. The whole-year trade surpluss should reach about CZK 100bn. In February, the main positive drivers were sectors of vehicles, machinery and other industrial goods. This is a typical picture given the structure of Czech industry. On the other side, deficit in trade with fuels and chemicals increases as world prices of energy and commodities keep on growing.Actual (Feb): CZK 13.75bn Consensus: CZK 15.0bn Previous (Jan): CZK 17.45bn