British economy rebounds strongly in first quarter of the year, ending 'technical recession'

LONDON -- The British economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to an end to what economists termed a “technical recession”, official figures showed Friday.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, with broad-based strength across sectors. The increase was higher than the 0.4% predicted by economists.

It comes after two quarters of modest declines, which in the U.K. is defined as a recession.

Despite the quarterly increase, the British economy has barely grown over the past year. It has been hobbled by interest rates at 16-year highs of 5.25%.

There was hope Thursday that they may be on the way down soon. Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey indicated that a rate cut may be on the cards in June if inflation continues to trend downwards.

High interest rates — which cool the economy by making it more expensive to borrow — have helped ease inflation, but they’ve also weighed on the British economy.