Australian economy in midst of slowdown

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SYDNEY, June 18 (AFP): Australia's economy is in the midst of a slowdown likely to last until at least the end of the year, according to a survey released today.

The monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future, was 2.8 per cent in April, down from 3.3 per cent in March.

Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said the reading, well down on the index's long-term average of 3.8 per cent, showed a number of factors were weighing on growth.

"The sharp slowdown in the growth rate of the index has been due to weakness in the sharemarket, tightening monetary conditions, the weakening US economy and softer reads on housing activity and the labour market," he said.

"The weakening of the growth rate of the leading index is signalling that the slowdown in growth that we have already seen is likely to be sustained for at least the duration of 2008."