Austria's Growth To Remain Muted Until 2017: WIFO

04 Feb 2013

The Austrian economy is set to log muted growth in the next five years amid subdued domestic consumption and the ongoing economic crisis in Eurozone, latest data released by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) showed Friday.

The agency said that the economic outlook in the medium term remain muted after a drop in growth last year. Average growth, however, will he faster than that estimated for the euro area.

The economy will likely expand on average 1.7 percent during the 2012-2017 period, which in line with the previous estimates. Growth would improve this year and the next from last year's lows, and hit a peak of 2 percent in 2015, before slowing to 1.8 percent in 2016.

This year, GDP is seen rising 1 percent compared to last, and will likely record a faster growth of 1.8 percent in 2014.

Reflecting the weakness of the economy, Austria's unemployment rate is expected to rise to 7.2 percent in 2017 from 7 percent in 2012.

The country's government deficit is forecast to fall to 2.6 percent of GDP this year from 3.1 percent last year, and hit a low of 0.4 percent by 2017, the agency said.

Source: http://www.rttnews.com/2043516/austria-s-growth-to-remain-muted-until-2017-wifo.aspx?type=alleco