Trade Tensions Darkening Economic Climate. Business Cycle Report of August 2014

The US economy overcame the slowdown registered at the beginning of the year in the second quarter of 2014. The high unemployment rates in some EU countries have declined slightly recently. The UK experienced continuing expansion in the second quarter of 2014, and Spain saw the upswing gain traction. Trade tensions with Russia are weighing on the economic climate in Germany and Austria, with Austrian exports to Russia already dropping markedly in the first four months of this year. Private consumption remains sluggish in Austria; demand for consumer durables is weak. The labour market situation has not yet eased.