Bank Austria, said Austrian industrial decline

The latest data from Bank Austria indicated a cooling down of Austrian industry growth in May, which was reflected by a restrained growth of new orders, particularly in the export sector.

The Bank Austria Purchasing Managers' Index fell from 57 points in April to 55.6 points in May.

In a press release on Monday, Bank Austria's chief economist Stefan Bruckbauer said the drop definitely indicated that the industrial sector has passed its growth peak after continuously strong growth in the first four months of this year.

The manufacturing sector had a production increase rate of 11.5 percent on average from January to March, but the rate has now dipped, he said.

He also estimated that the growth of the Austrian industry would be clearly below the double-digit rate in the second half of this year. With the expected increase of 6 percent for the full year, the sector will remain the most important driver of Austria's economic growth.

The subindex for production fell greatly in May, being evaluated as only 55.5 points, it reached its lowest level in the first half year. The weaker growing trend in new orders moved up a gear, meanwhile the previous strong upward trend in foreign demand broke and was almost at a standstill, according to the bank.

The bank also predicted a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.1 percent.

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