- The Czech Helsinki Committee (CHV) asked Foreign Minister Kavan to be allowed to monitor control of Czech citizens by British immigration officials at Prague's Ruzyne airport in order to see that no one is discriminated against. Kavan supported the idea and assured CHV representatives that he was in constant contact with the British embassy. Some 100 Czech citizens, most of them Roma, have been turned back by the British officials who launched the checks on July 18 under a Czech-British agreement.
- The Czech Republic's deficit in agricultural trade rose by 41 % year-on-year to CZK 1.77bn in June. Exports dropped 9 % to CZK 4.05bn, while imports jumped 2 % to CZK 5.82bn. 43 % of agricultural exports went to the CEFTA area, where sales of Czech goods fell by 6 %. Exports to the EU shrank 6.4 % year-on-year and made up 36.5 % of the overall Czech agricultural exports. As to the imports, nearly a half of them came to the Czech Republic from the EU and 23.3 % from the CEFTA region. The most important export items were milk, dairy products, eggs, and honey (19.0 %), as well as beverages and spirits (15.5 %). Edible preparations (11 %) and vegetables (9.8 %) dominated imports. For the whole of 2001H1, the Czech deficit in agricultural trade blew up from CZK 8.7bn to CZK 11.57bn. Exports were at about the same level as in 2000H1, but imports hiked by 9 %. Similarly to the results in June, most exports streamed to the CEFTA region, followed by the EU. On the other hand, the EU maintained the biggest share in Czech agricultural imports (52.4 %), the CEFTA ranked second with 20 % of imports. Czech agricultural trading with the EU ended with a CZK 10.25bn deficit in 2001H1 while trading with the CEFTA partners resulted in a CZK 3.56bn surplus.
- In 2001Q1, after several years, the Czech Statistical Office measured a significant acceleration of money income of Czech employees and pensioners. Net per capita income rose 6.3 % year-on-year in employee households, to CZK 7180. Pensioner households showed average per head monthly income CZK 6711, up 8,1 % compared with the same time period last year. Average monthly pension in pensioner households rose 6.5 % to CZK 6316. Both kinds of households enjoyed not only nominal, but also real income growth, as their nominal income rose faster than their cost of living. Average real income in employee households grew by 2.4 %, in pensioner households by 2.6 %. Not surprisingly, also nominal and real net per capita spending rose in 2001Q1. Employee households spent 4 % more in nominal terms and 0.2 % more in real terms compared with 2000Q1. Pensioner households increased their spending by 7.5 % in nominal terms and by 2 % in real terms.
- According to Cesky Telecom´s CEO Premysl Klima, several banks have already offered to help his company finance its purchase of 49 % of mobile carrier Eurotel. Cesky Telecom and the consortium of Verizon Communications and AT&T Wireless had signed a non-binding agreement in principle on the purchase with the price of the transaction set at USD 1.475bn in cash payable on completion.
- The Czech crown stayed in a narrow range of 33.81-87 to the euro on Monday. Late on the day, the crown was down to 33.86/89 to the euro from 33.78/80 late Friday. The crown/dollar weakened to 38.69/71 from 38.61/63 late Friday. Dealers say that holiday season is to blame for low activity on the crown market.
- Bonds weakened slightly from Friday's close. The state 6.95/16 bond lost 25 basis points to 98.55/85, yielding 7.11/07 %. The state 6.75/05 was flat at 100.65/95, yielding 6.52/42 %.
| late July 30 | bond yield | late July 27 |
| CZK/EUR | 33.86/89 | - | 33.78/80 |
| CZK/USD | 38.69/71 | - | 38.61/63 |
| State 6.75/05 | 100.65/95 | 6.52/42 | 100.65/95 |
| State 6.95/16 | 98.55/85 | 7.11/07 | 98.80/10 |
(Martin Kupka)