The UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator provides an overview of the current economic situation in Austria.
After a low point in April, slight economic improvement is expected in May and June
- In April, the UniCredit Business Indicator fell to a low of minus 3.1 points
- The easing of the lockdown allows for a gradual recovery from the cyclical trough in April, but a double-digit slump in economic performance is expected in the second quarter
- A bounce-back in the economy for the second half of the year will limit the economic decline in Austria to 9 per cent in 2020 as a whole
- Despite a rise in GDP of 8 per cent in 2021, the Austrian economy is only expected to catch up with the losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic in mid-2022
- The reluctance to consume and invest and the lack of demand from abroad, as well as the risk that the pandemic will persist, are preventing a very rapid recovery
- The impact on the labour market likely reached its peak in April, but no rapid improvement is expected
- Inflation is falling below an average of 1 per cent year-on-year in 2020, but is still significantly higher than in the eurozone
as of 15 May 2020.