International trade in goods (change of ownership) - August 2026
The August trade balance remained in deficit
Publication Date: 07. 10. 2026
Product Code: 241018-26
The total balance of international trade1) in goods2) was affected negatively mainly by deepening of the trade deficit in 'crude petroleum and natural gas’ by CZK 8.6 bn, in 'coke and refined petroleum products' by CZK 2.3 bn and declining in the surplus of ‘motor vehicles’ by CZK 3.7 bn.
The total balance was favourably influenced especially by y−o−y better trade balance in 'other transport equipment' (as railway vehicles) by 2.8 bn in ’fabricated metal products’ by CZK 2.1 bn and in ‘machinery and equipment’ by CZK 2.0 bn.
In August 2026, the positive trade balance with EU Member States increased by CZK 7.0 bn, y−o−y. The trade deficit with non-EU countries deepened by CZK 11.0 bn.
Y-o-y exports increased by 8.5% to CZK 371.9 bn and y-o-y imports by 10.2% to CZK 377.2 bn. August 2026 had the same number of working days as August 2025.
“The trade balance remained in the red for the second month of the summer holidays as well. It was driven primarily by a y-o-y increase in the value of imports of crude petroleum and natural gas by CZK 9.2 bn and of computers, electronic and optical devices by CZK 7.7 bn," says Miluše Kavěnová, Director of the International Trade Statistics Department of the Czech Statistical Office.
Month-on-month, the seasonally adjusted exports increased by 3.3%, imports by 2.7%.
From January to August 2026, the trade balance reached a surplus of CZK 83.7 bn representing a y−o−y decrease of CZK 42.8 bn. Since the beginning of the year, exports have risen by 3.6% and imports by 5.1%.
Notes
Methodological note:
From 2020 onwards, data for International trade in goods (change of ownership) are subject to recalculation using an updated method, based on a higher level of detail. See Update of the compilation method – International trade in goods (change of ownership).
Since March 2022, in accordance with the methodology of Eurostat, selected data for exports and imports of military equipment and weapons are for safety reasons included in other goods codes and another territorial structure so that the macroeconomic aggregate of international trade in goods is not influenced.
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Notes:
1) The international trade balance is the difference between exports from the Czech Republic and imports to the Czech Republic.
2) The international trade in goods (change of ownership) reflects export and import performance of the Czech economy, i.e. the international trade balance of the Czech Republic as well. It measures real trade in goods carried out between Czech entities and foreign ones, i.e. the change of ownership between residents and non-residents.
Data for companies, which are subject to the reporting duty and which failed to report data (non-response), has been imputed according to exports and imports these companies reported in the previous period. Data for companies exempted from the reporting duty were estimated on the basis of the data given in the VAT return forms. The data, which were not available from the VAT return forms, are estimated on the basis of the values for previous periods.
Data for respective months of 2026 is preliminary; data up to and including year 2025 is final. When data for the reference month is published, six previous months are updated. All months with preliminary data are updated when data for January, March and July is published. Final data is published always in September of the following year.
Responsible head at the CZSO: Miluše Kavěnová, Director of International Trade Statistics Department, phone number (+420) 274 054 176, e-mail: miluse.kavenova@csu.gov.cz
Contact person: Zdeněk Skalák, Head of Trade Balance Unit, phone number (+420) 704 659 392, e-mail: zdenek.skalak@csu.gov.cz
Method of data collection: Intrastat forms and single administrative documents and value added tax return forms
End of data collection: 20th working day after the end of the reference month
Following data sets: https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/vzonu_ts
242002-26 External Trade of the Czech Republic
Next News Release will be published on: November 6, 2026
This press release was not edited for language.