Darkening Sentiment

  • Ewald Walterskirchen

Firms' assessment of the economic situation in the coming months has become less positive. The deterioration in sentiment indicators points to slowing growth in the coming quarters. In the first quarter, the Austrian economy still expanded at a very vigorous pace, though (+0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, +3.3 percent year-on-year). Net exports were the main pillar of the economy; domestic demand showed no signs of picking up.