AUSTRALIA SET TO GROW, BUT UNEMPLOYMENT MAY RISE
  Australia's economy should manage modest
  growth over the next two years after a sharp slowdown but
  unemployment could still edge upwards, the Organisation for
  Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.
      The organisation's latest half-yearly report says Gross
  Domestic Product will grow by 2.5 pct this year and by 2.75 pct
  in 1988 compared with only 1.4 pct in 1986. The growth will be
  helped by higher stockbuilding and stronger domestic demand
  following tax cuts and higher real wages, it added.
      The report forecasts a decline in inflation, with consumer
  prices increasing by 8.5 pct this year and 6.25 pct in 1988.
      The current account deficit shows signs of easing slightly
  and could narrow to 12 billion dlrs by the end of 1988.
      While predicting slightly stronger growth than last year,
  however, the report revises downwards the OECD's earlier growth
  forecast for 1987 of 3.75 pct.
      The OECD predicts a similar combination of modest economic
  growth and rising unemployment for New Zealand, which is
  struggling to recover from a major economic crisis.
      The country's GDP, which contracted by 0.6 pct last year,
  should again show growth over the next two years, rising by
  0.25 pct this year and a more substantial 2.75 pct in 1988.
  

