Economic Environment for Austria Remains Difficult

According to WIFO's Business Cycle Survey, business sentiment in Austria has improved further, but still does not hint to a marked upswing. Consumption has remained sluggish, whereas investment demand has picked up recently. The Austrian economy is faced with contradictory stimuli from abroad: economic slack in key emerging market economies is exerting a dampening effect, while exports to the USA are growing vigorously. In the EU as a whole and the euro area, demand for Austrian products is growing only tepidly.