Life returning to Britain's economy says London Mortgage Broker, London Mortgage Advice ltd Wednesday, 13th May 2009

Britain's battered economy is seeing sterling surged to a four month high amid further signs of life.

Manufacturing and jobless figures were better than traders expected,who took heart from the smallest drop in manufacturing for 13 months and the most modest rise in jobless benefit claims since October.

The indicators do suggest the downturn is close to bottoming out, although the recession is not over. Oil prices jumped above $60-abarrel on optimism the global economy may also be past its worst.

Sterling pound gained as much as 1.2% to $1.53 against the greenback, its strongest level since 9 January. It also rose to 89.29p against the euro.

It might suggest the economy as a whole will bottom out in the third quarter of the year.

On the jobs front it is better than earlier this year and better than expected. It suggests the labour market could stabilise a little earlier than financial markets are thinking.

However, the chances of seeing a durable recovery will depend, in part, on efforts to restore the banking sector to health.

There is clear evidence of thawing in the markets.