The economy climbs out of recession – but, hold on, there may be a catch…

The strength of the UK’s emergence from recession came as a surprise even to the City – but, says James Moore, finally turning the corner makes a cut in interest rates less likely

Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak claim the economy has ‘turned a corner’ (Jacob King/PA Wire)

“Wow,” was the reaction of one economist as the UK officially exited last year’s recession at a speed no one had really expected.

Many of those outside of the City might scratch their heads and ask how quarterly growth of 0.6 per cent is anything to get excited about. But if you follow this stuff, it is.

UK plc pumped out billions of pounds more than the forecasts said it would. You could almost hear the anguish as scribblers in London’s financial centre had to delete their pre-written responses and start again.