Economy gallops along

The forecasting group's latest predictions indicate another strong year, after a robust 3.5 per cent growth in the March 2004 year.

After several years of "rapid expansion", growth would slow to 2.5 per cent in the year to March 2006, before picking up again the following year, the institute said.

However, the slowdown was taking longer than expected to arrive.

"It is a very gentle slowdown, and a level (2.5 per cent growth) that we would have been excited about 15 years ago," institute director Brent Layton said.

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