Austria’s GDP declined for the fifth straight quarter between April and June of this year, according to the latest findings by Statistics Austria, signalling that the country continues to be in a recession.

The country's GDP dropped by 0.6% in real terms in Q2 compared to the same period last year, prolonging the economic slump that started in the second quarter of last year.

A recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

In a statement, Statistics Austria noted that although the GDP decline in Q2 was “less pronounced than in previous quarters,” it remained “significant,” Xinhua news agency reports.

“Austria’s economy is sliding from recession towards stagnation,” stated Tobias Thomas, director-general of Statistics Austria.

Thomas attributed the economic decline between April and June mainly to the manufacturing and trade sectors, which saw year-on-year contractions of 3.9% and 2.3%, respectively.

In addition, Austria's foreign trade saw a “marked decline” in the first five months of the year, with imports dropping by 12.6% and exports decreasing by 5.2% compared to the same period last year, according to Statistics Austria.

However, the institute highlighted that Austria has made better progress in controlling inflation, which has remained a persistent challenge in the country over the past two years.

Furthermore, according to a preliminary estimate, the inflation rate in August fell to 2.4%, only 0.4 percentage points above the European Central Bank’s medium-term target of 2%, the report goes on to add.