VIENNA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Austria is on track to reach a zero budget deficit in 2018 with the back of favourable economic conditions, according to the Austrian Fiscal Advisory Council.

In a press release on Monday, the fiscal council president Gottfried Haber said robust GDP growth and a drop in interest rates have led to an earlier than expected drop in government debt.

Haber said he even anticipates a slight budget surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP in 2019, with debt's ratio to GDP dropping to 69.5 percent by the end of that year.

This would be down from the 73.4 percent debt ratio anticipated for the current year, and down further from 78.3 percent recorded last year.

Haber noted that the results also keep Austria in line with European Union fiscal policy.