Reports spark end-of-recession hope

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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said its latest data indicated the UK was showing "tentative signs" of a pause in the economic slowdown.

Its respected "leading indicators" survey also showed evidence of a "possible trough" in Britain after the recent economic downturn, it added.

The Paris-based forecaster said its leading indicator measure for the UK rose by 0.3 points to 96.6 in March, with any increasing number below 100 representing recovery. February's reading was an increase of 0.1.

"Composite leading indicators for March 2009 continue to point to a strong slowdown in the OECD," the organisation said. "However France, Italy and the United Kingdom are showing tentative signs of, at least, a pause in the economic slowdown."

Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, also bolstered the mood after saying the global economy had reached a turning point.

Speaking in Switzerland at a G10 central bank meeting, he said we are "around the inflection point in the cycle" as far as growth was concerned.

And billionaire investor George Soros, whose views are widely respected, has announced that the meltdown of the world's financial system had been averted.

The upbeat comments come as surveys from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) also showed an improvement in consumer confidence.

Sunny weather and a late Easter holiday last month saw retail sales grow at their fastest rate in three years, BRC figures have revealed.