Austria appears to be past the worst of the economic slump and should record 0.2 percent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2013, the National Bank of Austria (OeNB) reported Friday.

The economy was still in the red in the fourth quarter of 2012, the OeNB calculating a GDP decline of 0.1 percent, while the economy nonetheless managed to grow 0.6 percent for the entire year.

This is considerably lower than the 2010 and 2011 GDP growth of 2.7 and 2.2 percent respectively.

Europe as a whole however has not yet felt the arrival of positive growth impulses, the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2012, and strongly negative figures are expected for the fourth quarter.

However the OeNB sees the global economic outlook as improved, with indicators such as the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for both emerging economies and the US economy once again in positive growth territory.