Economic Slack Persists in the Euro Area

Global economic developments have been quite uneven in the first months of 2013. While the US economy expanded again more strongly, and China experienced some loss in momentum, stagnation continued unchanged in the EU. The OECD's Composite Leading Indicator signals a revival of the world economy in the second quarter. The German and Austrian economies may also benefit with some lag from this development. However, the pace of activity in Austria is likely to still remain lacklustre in the first half of the year. Business surveys do not yet indicate that the economy is gathering steam. Employment figures are stagnating while unemployment is on the rise, and inflation is receding against the background of weak commodity price developments.