FT poll shows more than half of economists surveyed expect imminent return to growth

Britain's recession is over for the time being, according to the results of a poll of economists.

Eleven out of 20 experts surveyed by the Financial Times said the UK economy had stopped shrinking in June and was likely to start growing in coming months.

Those who believed the economy was still contracting said the end of the downturn was near.

The results have raised the question of whether Alistair Darling's budget prediction of a fourth-quarter return to growth was too pessimistic.

JP Morgan economist Malcom Barr told the FT he expected “a transition into modest positive growth as the data move into the third quarter”.

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