Page 105 - KELAG Annual Report 2017

in 2017. According to current projections, growth is
expected to be around 2.5% in 2018 as well. The Austrian
economy is expected to grow an average of 2.0% per year
from 2018 to 2022, according to current projections by the
WIFO (Austrian Institute for Economic Research) for the
medium term. That is 1.25 percentage points more than in
the years of weak growth from 2012 to 2016.

The economy’s growth coupled with labour market policies
paves the way for employment to increase above the labour
supply in Austria up to and including 2019, thus lowering
The global economy, particularly global trade, gained the unemployment rate. According to calculations by
significant momentum at the turn of the year 2016/2017. Eurostat, the unemployment rate was around 5.6% in 2017.
Nine years after the onset of the financial and economic A further decline to 5.5% is expected for 2018.
crisis, the ensuing sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone and
the recession in several commodity-exporting nations, the The environment of slightly increasing prices for petroleum
situation in the industrialised nations as well as in the products and growing economic momentum is likely to
emerging nations steadily returned to normal. push prices up further. An inflation rate of almost 2.0% on
average is anticipated in Austria for the period from 2018 to
Economic growth also remained high in the majority of EU 2022.
states and in the euro zone in 2017. Current estimates
project annual economic growth in the euro zone for 2018
to be around 2.1%, following 2.2% in 2017. The rate of
inflation in the euro zone increased considerably at the
beginning of 2017 mainly due to the rise in energy prices
Electricity consumption throughout Austria increased by
and was around 1.4% at the end of 2017. The European
1.4% on the prior year to a total of 71.1 TWh in 2017. On the
Central Bank plans to reduce the volume of its bond
production side, there was again an increase in renewable
purchase program as of 2018. The key interest rate of the
energy in Austria. For instance, the installed wind power
European Central Bank has been at a historic all-time low of
capacity increased by 196 MW to the current 2,844 MW.
0.0% since March 2016. In the medium term, economists
and financial experts assume that the yield curve will
Natural gas consumption nationwide increased in the
successively rise owing to increasing inflation rates and
reporting period by 12.0% in comparison to 2016. This is
moderate fears about the economy. In a historical
due to the slightly cooler weather conditions in some
comparison, the general level of interest rates is expected
months of the year as well as the increased use of gas power
to remain very low.
stations.
In the robust international climate, there is a continuing
Prices on the international fuel markets continued to
economic upswing in the export-orientated Austrian
recover from their lows in 2016.
economy, which is currently in a phase of expansion driven
by both domestic and foreign demand. The pace of growth
in real GDP picked up in 2016 to 1.4% and was around 2.8%