Recovery of Economic Expectations is Taking Shape

The index of current assessments of the overall economic situation increased by 7.9 points in July (excluding seasonal fluctuations) to the –22.6 mark, which is in line with the figures measured in April. Increases can be seen across all sectors. In the services sectors, the index rises by 9.9 points to the –25.7 mark but remains close to the historical lows. In the construction industry the situation index rises by 8.4 points and is already in positive territory with 3.9 points. In the manufacturing sector the situation index gained 4.6 points, but at –25.9 points is still in the sceptical range.

The expectations of Austrian companies across all sectors are significantly less negative than in the previous month. The index of business expectations increased by 3.9 points in July but remained negative at –7.5 points. In the construction industry alone, the expectations index is above the zero line that separates negative from positive expectations: after a slight decrease of 1.5 points, the index now stands at 2.5 points. In the service industries the expectations index rises (+3.0 points), but at –6.4 points remain in the sceptical range. The expectations index for the manufacturing sector also continues to recover (+7.0 points), but at –12.4 points is still rather cautious. The majority of the companies in the tangibles manufacturing sector in particular expects a rather moderate normalisation dynamic in the coming months.

Details on all sectors in the current economic survey can be found here.