Austrian economic growth accelerated slightly in the third quarter, driven by private consumption and investment by companies, but imports again grew faster than exports, the economic think-tank WIFO confirmed on Tuesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.4 percent in real terms in the three months to the end of September compared with the previous quarter, when the rate was 0.3 percent, WIFO said, confirming its flash estimate published last month.
The third-quarter rate of growth compared with the same period last year was revised down to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent, said WIFO, which compiles GDP data and provides economic forecasts for the Austrian government. "Domestic demand once again provided the impulses for growth in the domestic economy," WIFO said. Household consumption in the second and third quarters increased at the same rates as GDP overall, its data showed.
The tourism industry, particularly hotels and restaurants, had helped drive growth in the third quarter, WIFO added. Exports - long another important driver of growth in the small, trade-dependent country - had, however, increased more slowly than imports for the fifth quarter in a row, its data showed. Exports grew 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, while imports rose 0.3 percent. Gross investments rose 0.9 percent, driven by companies' spending on machines and motor vehicles, WIFO said, though that was still below the 1.0 percent increase seen in the second quarter, it added.
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