Persistent economic slump brings poor sentiment at the turn of the year
Economic sentiment in Austria deteriorated significantly at the turn of the year. "The UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator fell to minus 3.3 points in December. This means that the indicator fell to its lowest value of the entire year at the end of 2024. Even if the deterioration in sentiment may have negatively exaggerated the actual situation, a clear end to the economic weakness seems to be a long way off ," says UniCredit Bank Austria Chief Economist Stefan Bruckbauer, adding: "The average value of our business indicator of minus 2.9 points shows that the fourth quarter of 2024 has joined the series of weak quarterly results since mid-2022. However, the services sector is likely to have benefited from stronger private consumption and enabled at least a slight increase in GDP. Overall, Austria's GDP nevertheless fell by at least 0.5 per cent in 2024.”
- The UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator deteriorated significantly in December 2024 to minus 3.3 points, the lowest value in the past
- Sentiment declined in all sectors of the economy, particularly in the service sector
- Improved framework conditions for domestic demand should enable a slight economic recovery over the course of 2025
- GDP is expected to increase slightly by 0.9 per cent in 2025 and by 1.3 per cent in 2026
- The tailwind for private consumption will be strengthened by real growth in purchasing power
- The further easing of monetary policy will facilitate investment
- However, increased protectionism and competitivness problems mean that hardly any support can be expected from the export industry
- Inflation could fall to an annual average of 2.2 per cent in 2025 and 1.9 per cent in 2026
- Moderate deterioration in the unemployment rate to an average of 7.2 per cent in 2025
- The ECB is likely to lower the deposit rate to 1.75 per cent by the end of 2025, slightly below the neutral level
UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator (PDF)
UniCredit Bank Austria Business Indicator – Computation method (PDF)
as of January, 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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