UK economy returns to growth

It looks like Britain has joined the list of countries emerging from recession. From Reuters:

The economy grew by 0.2 percent in the three months to August, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said on Tuesday, warning the end of recession did not herald a return to normal economic growth...

The NIESR said the 0.2 percent rise followed a 0.3 percent fall in the three months to July and marked the first time British GDP has been higher over a three month average since May 2008.

Other recent reports mostly corroborate the picture of an improving UK economy. From Reuters:

The Office for National Statistics said factory output rose 0.9 percent in July -- three times faster than analysts had expected and the biggest rise since January 2008...

The wider measure of industrial output, which includes energy production, rose 0.5 percent on the month -- more than twice as fast as expected -- despite falls in utility, mining and oil output...

Figures overnight from the British Retail Consortium showed like-for-like retail sales values fell 0.1 percent on the year in August -- the first fall since May and following a 1.8 percent rise in July.

And more from Reuters:

The Nationwide Consumer Confidence index rose to 63 in August from an upwardly-revised 61 in July. That was the highest since May 2008 and reflected Britons' more upbeat view on current and future conditions as well as a greater willingness to spend.

A separate survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountants KPMG showed the number of job appointments rose last month for the first time in over a year.

On inflation, figures from the British Retail Consortium showed shop prices fell 0.1 percent last month to register their first negative reading since February 2007.

In contrast to the UK, German industrial production fell in July. From Bloomberg:

German industrial output fell in July after rising in June, suggesting the recovery from recession may be gradual.

Production declined 0.9 percent from June, when it rose a revised 0.8 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. It had initially reported a 0.1 percent decline in June output. Economists predicted an increase of 1.6 percent in July, the median of 39 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey showed. From a year earlier, production declined 17 percent when adjusted for the number of work days.

However, other recent reports on the German economy have been more upbeat.

German exports gained 2.3 in July and factory orders advanced 3.5 percent. Given the increase in orders, “industrial production is likely to increase in the third quarter,” the ministry said.