High Euro Exchange Rate Weighing on Cyclical Recovery. Economic Outlook for 2005 and 2006

Driven by buoyant exports, the Austrian economy grew by around 2 percent in 2004. For 2005 and 2006, growth is projected at an annual 2¼ percent, boosted in 2005 by the second step of tax cuts, and by some pick-up in the pace of activity in the euro area in 2006. Major uncertainty surrounds the exchange rate of the euro, where a further upward drift may drag down the cyclical recovery in the euro area.