Liquidity Constraints and Expectations Regarding Normalisation. Results of the Second Special Survey on the COVID-19 Crisis as Part of the WIFO-Konjunkturtest of May 2020

In the WIFO-Konjunkturtest (business cycle survey) of May, special questions were asked for the second time on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The business activities of most enterprises are negatively affected by the crisis. On average, companies do not expect their business situation to return to normal until after 7.4 months; large firms are more sceptical than smaller firms. Around 30 percent of enterprises state that their liquidity reserves will only last 4 months or less if the business situation does not improve. The government support measures are mostly seen as helpful, but not always sufficient.