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UK may be out of the depths of recession

The British economy may have seen the worst of the recession, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Based on the OECD’s latest indicators, the UK emerged from a strong slowdown and entered a possible trough in March.

Using a series of economic indices for individual countries, the OECD said that the UK economy rose by 0.3 points to 96.6 at the end of the first quarter, where an increase indicates recovery.

Of the other major economies, China, France and Italy also showed signs of tentative recovery, while the US, Germany, Japan and Canada were still in the grip of a major slowdown.

The more positive news was tempered by a warning that the recovery was weak and may amount to no more than an easing of the decline in growth.

The OECD report said: “OECD composite leading indicators for March 2009 continue to point to a strong slowdown in the OECD. However France, Italy and the United Kingdom are showing tentative signs of, at least, a pause in the economic slowdown.”