Austria: GDP contracts in Q2 at sharpest rate since WW2 due to Covid-19
GDP contracted 10.7% on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis in the second quarter, deteriorating from the first quarter’s 2.4% contraction. Q2’s reading marked the sharpest drop since at least World War II and came on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated containment measures to curb the spread of the virus, which hammered domestic and foreign demand in the quarter.
The downturn reflected contractions in private consumption, fixed investment and exports. Household spending fell 12.0% in the second quarter, which was markedly below the first quarter’s 3.9% contraction as the full impact of restrictive measures was felt. Fixed investment contracted a historic 7.5% in Q2, significantly below the first quarter’s 1.4% decrease. Public spending, meanwhile, rebounded, growing 1.0% in Q2 (Q1: -0.3% s.a. qoq).
Exports of goods and services contracted 13.2% in Q2 (Q1: -3.0% s.a. qoq), while imports of goods and services dropped 8.5% in Q4 (Q1: -2.9% s.a. qoq).
On an annual basis, economic activity fell 12.8% in Q2 from the previous quarter’s 2.8% fall.