Austrian central bank says economic outlook improving, to be felt next year

VIENNA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Austria's central bank has trimmed its economic growth forecast for the country in 2026 due to a weaker-than-expected first six months of the year, but raised it for next year as the outlook is improving, it said on Friday.

In an update to its last economic forecasts published in June, the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) said it now expects gross domestic product to grow by 0.5% this year, 0.1 points less than it had previously predicted. It raised its forecast for 2027, however, to 1.3% from 1.1%.

"Despite the war in the Middle East and this summer's drought, the economic outlook for the second half of 2026 has improved," the ONB said in a statement.

"Global trade grew more strongly than expected, which should also benefit the Austrian export sector. At the same time, the order-book situation and sentiment in the domestic manufacturing sector have improved," it said, adding that the effects of those would mainly be felt next year.

The central bank trimmed its forecast for Austrian inflation according to the Harmonised Index Of Consumer Prices (HICP) to 3% this year from 3.2%, and to 2.3% next year from 2.4%.

(Reporting by Francois MurphyEditing by Tomasz Janowski)