Financial News: Austria Economy Grows In Q1; April Inflation Lowest

Austria Economy Grows In Q1; April Inflation Lowest Since Sept 2021

04/30/2024 - 10:38:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Austria's economy expanded for the first time in four quarters during the three months to January, led by growth in household consumption that offset the slump in investments, preliminary figures from the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, or WIFO, showed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product rose 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, to mark the first increase since first quarter of 2023, when the economy expanded a modest 0.1 percent.

The Austrian economy stagnated in the fourth quarter of 2023 after shrinking 0.3 percent in the third quarter and 1.3 percent in the second quarter.

Economic output decreased 1.3 percent year-on-year after a 1.4 percent fall in the previous three months.

Private consumption rebounded 1.3 percent sequentially, while gross fixed capital formation shrunk 2.7 percent. Exports decreased 0.3 percent and imports fell 1.5 percent. On the production side, the output in industrial and construction sectors declined again, while consumer-related services such as trade, transportation, accommodation and food service activities logged growth. Statistics Austria is set to publish the detailed data for first quarter GDP on June 3.

Elsewhere, preliminary data from Statistics Austria showed that consumer price inflation slowed to 3.5 percent in April, which was the lowest since September 2021. "Gas prices fell significantly below the previous year's high level for the first time since 2020. In addition, package tours in particular, which had been a strong price driver in the previous twelve months, had a dampening effect on prices year-on-year," Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas said. "However, price increases in restaurants remain above average and fuel prices continue to rise."

Inflation, based on the EU measure HICP, fell to 3.4 percent from 4.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent on the CPI and rose 0.2 percent on the HICP.

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