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The growth prospects for the domestic economy are deteriorating slightly: In its most recent economic forecast for 2023, the European Commission predicts growth of 0.4 percent for the Austrian economy. In the winter forecast, the value was still 0.5 percent. Things should go uphill in 2024: Domestic growth should then reach 1.6 percent. Things are looking better for the EU as a whole: Here the growth prospects for the current year have been corrected upwards to 1.0 percent – after 0.8 percent in the winter interim forecast. In 2024, EU-wide economic growth is expected to be 1.7 percent. In the euro area, gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase by 1.1 or 1.6 percent. “The EU has averted a recession,” said Economics Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in Brussels.
Check inflation impact
According to EU forecasts, inflation in Austria will remain at a high level of 7.1 percent this year and will not fall to 3.8 percent until 2024. The economists at Bank Austria also announced their adjusted data yesterday: They have raised their inflation expectations to 7.6 percent for this year due to the “surprisingly strong second-round effects”. On the other hand, Bank Austria sees a significant recovery to 3.5 percent in 2024.
Because inflation this year – as reported several times – is well above that in the EU and Germany, “we must, even more than in the past, assess the impact of each measure on inflation,” said Finance Minister Magnus Brunner in a reaction.
Austria will also fall behind its most important partners next year, because the forecast for the euro zone is 2.8 percent, and for the EU as a whole, inflation is likely to be 3.1 percent. Gentiloni: “We have passed the peak of inflation.”
Source: Nachrichten
