Slow, slow recovery

Britain only just crept out of an 18-month recession at the end of 2009, suggesting any monetary tightening remains a long way off and raising fears about the prospects for recovery ahead of an election due by June.

The Office for National Statistics said today that gross domestic product rose by 0.1 percent between October and December, well below analysts' forecasts for growth of 0.4 percent. For 2009 as a whole, the economy shrank by 4.8 percent -- the worst yearly performance since records began in 1949.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said. "I think we are now on a path to recovery.” He suggested he would be sticking with his forecast that the economy would grow by up to 1.5 percent this year. Sterling fell after further data showed output fell 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago. From peak to trough, the economy contracted six percent -- far worse than the downturns of the early 1980s and 1990s.

APA Director General Gareth Osborne said, “There is some positive news but not cause for excitement just yet. We still have a long way to go but positive signs should be enough for the more entrepreneurial business to start stretching their wings."

APA