High inflation could slow down the current economic upturn
“The UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator rose slightly to minus 1.4 points in August, improving to its highest level since February 2023”, says UniCredit Bank Austria Chief Economist Stefan Bruckbauer, adding: “However, after the uniform improvement trend in the previous month, the economic picture was more mixed again in August. While economic concerns among businesses increased slightly in all sectors of the economy, consumer sentiment rose significantly to its best level in a year.”
- The UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator rose to minus 1.4 points in August, its best value in two and a half years
- A significant improvement in consumer sentiment offset the slight increase in economic concerns among entrepreneurs in industry, construction and the service sector
- Revised upward trend in the first half of the year makes slight GDP growth in 2025 more likely
- Stronger domestic demand should enable higher economic growth of 1.1 per cent in 2026
- Stabilisation on the labour market: after averaging 7.5 per cent in 2025, the unemployment rate is expected to fall slightly to 7.4 per cent in 2026
- Energy, food and service prices will drive inflation to an annual average of 3.5 per cent in 2025. Higher inflation of 2.4 per cent is now also expected in 2026
- Stable key interest rates in the eurozone until the end of 2026, while the Fed is likely to ease by 75 basis points, will further strengthen the euro
UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator (PDF)
UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator – Computation method (PDF)
as of September, 2025
About UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator
The UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator provides an overview of the current economic situation in Austria.
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