End of UK recession may be near

A leading British economist says recent data suggest the country may be pulling out of its double-dip recession. Chief IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer said the potential for a turnaround was given a "significant lift," by a report that showed industrial output in Britain rising in July at the fastest pace since February 1987. Industrial production, which includes mining and oil production, rose 2.9 percent in July over June after falling 2.4 percent in June, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday. The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing production rose 3.2 percent from June to July, showing the fastest month-to-month growth since July 2002. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has estimated Britain's economy would shrink 0.7 percent in 2012. Economists on average have forecast a drop of 0.2 percent, with much of the economic drag occurring in the first half of the year, the newspaper said.