VIENNA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Austria's finance ministry on Thursday raised its forecast of this year's government deficit to 3.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), above the Maastricht criteria of 3 percent.

The ministry's deficit forecast in March was 2.9 percent of GDP.

The ministry attributed the hike to the country's slow economic recovery, the economic toll of the recent flood disaster, and an increase in government payouts to residents, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.

The finance ministry also estimated the government debt rate now to stand at 79.3 percent of GDP, above the 77.8-percent ratio in 2023.

Austria's GDP has contracted for five consecutive quarters, from the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 to Q2 this year, according to Statistics Austria. Last month, the Austrian National Bank forecast a 0.7 percent decline in the country's GDP for this year, citing a continued industrial recession and weak consumer spending. Enditem

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