High levels of gas storage, additional gas supply capacity, and continuous energy diversification efforts will improve Austria's energy supply position beyond our previous expectation. As a result, we believe that Austria will be well equipped to handle any potential short-term disruptions and limit economic scarring caused by the end of the gas transit contract between the Ukrainian energy provider Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom in December 2024, which is unlikely to be renewed. At the same time, we project Austria's economy will return to average real growth of 1.4% over 2025-2027, supported by a rebound in domestic and external demand, following the estimated 0.2% this year. We therefore revised our outlook on Austria to positive from stable and affirmed our 'AA+/A-1+'
