Britain's economic recovery received several boosts today with news of a jump in mortgage approvals, share prices moving towards their best levels for 10 months and Jaguar Land Rover announcing that it no longer needed a bail-out.

The biggest boost came from the housing market as the Council for Mortgage Lenders reported a 23 per cent jump in the number of mortgages approved in June, to 45,000. It was the fifth consecutive monthly increase and compares with 36,500 approvals in May.

The trade association's economist Paul Samter said: “Low interest rates and realistic selling prices have helped generate a welcome increase in transactions.” Government figures showed house prices rose by 1.6  per cent in June, easing the annual rate of house price falls for the third month in a row to 10.6 per cent.

But Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, warned: “While it is possible that house prices bottomed out around March/April and will rise further, we suspect they will be prone to relapses. We do not think a sustained upward trend is developing.”

Jaguar Land Rover's Indian owner Tata has raised £175 million from the private sector to secure the car maker's future. It ends months of negotiations with the Government over possible emergency funding for the business which employs 15,000 staff. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said it had been a “good outcome”. He added: “We understand the Tata group will be successful in resolving longer-term financial needs but we are willing to help if necessary.”

City commentators even detected a silver lining in trade figures. Britain's trade gap rose to £6.45 billion in June from £6.17 billion in May. Economists had forecast a deficit of £6.2 billion. Imports rose 2.2 per cent — the biggest rise since last July — suggesting consumers are starting to spend again. Exports increased 1.4 per cent. Philip Shaw, economist at Investec, said: “At first glance the figures are disappointing but if you strip out oil and erratics they look a little better... and could be a sign global trade is recovering.”