UK recession 'may have ended in March'
British economy could have come out of recession two months ago, National Institute of Economic and Social Research says
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Wednesday, 10, Jun 2009 04:43
Britain may have come out of recession two months ago, an economic thinktank said on Wednesday.
According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr), GDP rose by 0.1 per cent in both April and March.
In the three months to May output was down by 0.9 per cent, which compares to 1.5 per cent for the three months to April.
The figures have led Niesr to conclude that March was the "trough" of the country's recession, which began mid-2008.
"The monthly figures are inevitably erratic but the picture is coherent with the broader picture of stabilisation which has emerged since we first suggested that the output had stopped falling in our GDP release on May 13th," the thinktank said.
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a rise in industrial production in March and April, while house price indices have indicated a rise in property values in recent months.
However, there remain severe doubts over the long-term headwinds running against the economy.