Bank of Austria forecasts economic growth in third quarter

Bank of Austria forecasts economic growth in third quarter

08-14-2009 13:03

This Friday, the UniCredit Bank Austria AG announced that its business gauge indicates a durable recovery in the business segment, while expectations that Austria’s economy may stabilize are rising. The Bank Austria’s business gauge climbed 1.8 last month in comparison with June’s 2.1. Stefan Bruckbauer, an economist at Bank Austria, commented: “We consider the renewed quarterly decrease in GDP of 0.4% in the second quarter as an indication that the downturn is bottoming out.” Bruckbauer expects the Austrian economy to grow 0.3% in the third quarter, while Bank Austria estimates a continuous contraction of 3.5% in 2009. Bank of Austria Nevertheless, other Bank Austria economists question the durability of the improvement. “Once more the impulse of the economy will weaken if the correction of equities diminishes and when the extra incentive from the monetary measure fades away. At the end of this year, the economy is likely to show a considerable deceleration in economic expansion,” stated Walter Pudschedl, one of Bank Austria’s economists.