Wellington---Key figures from the New Zealand budget released on Thursday:
DEFICIT: The deficit for 2014-15 was NZ$684 million (against a government prediction last year of a NZ$372 million surplus). The government forecasts a NZ$176 million surplus next year, rising to NZ$1.5 billion in 2016-17 and NZ$3.6 billion in 2018-19.
ECONOMIC GROWTH: Gross domestic product is set to reach 3.3 percent in 2015-16, easing to 3.1 percent the following year and then 2.8 percent in subsequent years.
UNEMPLOYMENT: The jobless rate, currently 6.1 percent, is forecast to fall to 5.6 percent in 2015-16, then slip to 5.1 percent in 2016-17 and 4.7 percent in 2017-18.
INFLATION: Annual inflation, just 0.1 percent in the December quarter, is tipped to edge up to 0.2 percent in 2015-16, then 1.4 percent a year later and 2.1 percent in 2017-18, close to the mid-point of the central bank's 1.0-3.0 percent target range.
AFP
