In Austria, prospects for a pick-up in economic activity are firming. WIFO's latest Business Cycle Survey as well as the most recent expansion of production point to a gradual recovery of industrial activity. WIFO's Leading Indicator also improved for the third time. Leading indicators for the...

GDP grew at a seasonally and working day adjusted rate of 0.2 percent in the third quarter, compared with the previous quarter. Hence the upturn set in at only a modest pace. In the EU countries, economic activity remains sluggish and uneven. Weak price dynamics prompted the European Central...

Exports of goods as the driver of business activity are losing steam, and the impulse to private consumption from the tax reform has not yet taken full effect. Yet, together with the tax reform, the marked deceleration of inflation is boosting private purchasing power, suggesting more...

From late 2004 to January, domestic industrial manufacturers turned more cautious in judging their order situation. Confidence has also weakened slightly with regard to the longer-term business outlook. While the pace of exports has slackened somewhat, signs for a strengthening of domestic...

In October, both industrial output and business surveys for the euro area show a marked improvement from the first half of the year. Notably for Germany and Italy, where GDP rose below the average in the first semester, indicators point to a rebound. In Austria, growth has been above the...

The strong upward drift in energy prices is holding back further the already subdued private household demand in Austria. This is mirrored by the fragile business situation in retail trade and other service branches. Exports, manufacturing output and construction activity, for their part, enjoy...

Business activity has clearly lost momentum since the beginning of the year. Stimulus from exports, which has supported economic growth last year, is fading, while private household demand is still not showing the hoped-for recovery. The business climate in manufacturing has weakened, albeit not...

Opinion surveys for the manufacturing sector suggest no significant improvement of the business climate since the end of 2003, neither for Austria nor for the euro area at large. Positive incentives from the boom in Asia and North America have to be set against the dampening impact of euro...

Exports of goods regained momentum in the third quarter. As expected, private consumption in the last months reacted with a lag to the positive effects of the tax reform on household incomes. The decline in the euro exchange rate is brightening the outlook for exports and the softening of oil...

Economic activity in Austria ended the year 2004 on an upbeat note, with exports, industrial output and employment all heading up. For January and February, however, business surveys point to a slowing of the recovery. Unemployment at the beginning of the year rose again above the level of one...