Austria's economy will grow slightly this year, avoiding what would be a third year of recession in a row, the Austrian National Bank said in its half-yearly economic forecast, predicting gross domestic product will rise by 0.2% this year. Economic think-tanks including Wifo, which provides the government with forecasts the budget is based on, recently predicted the economy would contract again this year. "We can announce today that we are expecting economic growth this year to be slightly positive," Governor Robert Holzmann said in a statement issued by the central bank on Friday.