VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's two main economic think tanks on Friday raised their forecasts for the country's growth this year, saying a global recovery was lifting exports and reinforcing a positive dynamic in other sectors.
Wifo, which compiles gross domestic product (GDP) data for the government, said it expects GDP to grow 3.2 percent this year, up from the 3.0 percent predicted in its previous quarterly forecast issued in December.
The other think-tank, IHS, raised its GDP growth forecast for 2018 to 2.8 percent from the 2.7 percent it announced three months ago.
"Brisk international growth is giving Austria's export industry wings and increasing production capacity utilization," Wifo said in a statement.
Exports in the small, trade-dependent country will grow 5.5 percent this year, roughly the same clip as last year's 5.7 percent, Wifo said. Import growth will slow to a still robust 4.6 percent from last year's 5.4 percent, it added.
IHS, which generally takes a more conservative approach, predicted export growth of 5.2 percent this year and said imports would increase 3.5 percent.