Economy to improve in 2nd half of 2005

The U.S. economy is expected to grow faster in the second half of 2005 than in the first half, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released on Wednesday.

The semiannual Livingston survey of private-sector and academic economists predicted the world’s largest economy would grow at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the first half of 2005 and 3.6 percent in the second half of the year. Growth is also projected to slow to an annual 3.1 percent in the first half of 2006.