Cautious Improvement in Economic Assessments at the Beginning of the Year

The results of the WIFO-Konjunkturtest (business cycle survey) show a further slight improvement in economic assessments in January. At 6.4 points (seasonally adjusted), the WIFO Business Climate Index was 0.7 points above the value of the previous month (5.7 points). The increase is primarily due to the improvement in situation assessments. The situation index rose by 1.4 points to 11.5 points and signals an average economic environment. Business uncertainty – measured on the basis of the estimability of the future own business situation remained high despite declines. Due to the continuing high economic risks, economic expectations remained almost unchanged and, at 1.3 points, signal a continuation of the restrained economic momentum.