KEATING SEES LOWER AUSTRALIAN CURRENT DEFICIT

  Australian Treasurer Paul Keating said
  he expects the country's 1986/87 current account deficit to be
  one billion dlrs lower than the 14.7 billion forecast in the
  August budget. Keating told a financiers' dinner that
  February's 750 mln dlr deficit, against January's 1.23 billion,
  was "in the groove" of the government's expectations.
      "We will probably bring the current account this year under
  14 billion, I think, which will probably be about a billion
  dollars less than we forecast in the budget," Keating said. "I am
  sure we will see a lower current account deficit for next year
  ... And a fall as proportion of GDP."
      Australia posted a 13.82 billion dlr current account
  deficit in 1985/86 and Keating said the latest monthly figures
  showed an encouraging trend.
      Keating said the government would maintain responsible
  economic management regardless of whether it was drawn into an
  election, because it would take time to stabilise Australia's
  80 billion dlr foreign debt.
      "We have to build the import competing sector back," he said.
  "We are now trying to rebuild our capital structure. We are
  trying to rebuild the culture of productivity and
  manufacturing."
      Keating said the foundation for a transition of the economy
  had been laid with the floating of the Australian dollar and
  continued with wage restraint and deregulation.
      The Government would follow with spending cuts in its
  economic statement on May 14, he said.
  

