LONDON (Reuters) – Fewer Britons claimed unemployment benefit in May than at any time in the last two years although wages clawed back only a bit of ground lost to inflation, data showed on Wednesday.

In the latest sign the British economy is shrugging off two years of stagnation, the number of people claiming jobless benefit dropped by 8,600 last month, its seventh consecutive fall. A Reuters poll had forecast a decline of 5,000.

LONDON (Reuters) – British house prices are rising at their fastest pace in three years and the country’s lagging industrial sector is now contributing to the economy’s recovery, data showed on Tuesday.

After a surprisingly strong services survey last week, the figures suggest incoming Bank of England chief Mark Carney will inherit an economy already on the way to what he has termed “escape velocity”.

By David Milliken and Christina Fincher

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters – A strong rise in new orders helped British manufacturing grow at its fastest pace in over a year last month, a survey showed on Monday, and revised data for April meant UK factories have now had a two-month expansion.

Weak lending data from the Bank of England, however, highlighted the ongoing challenges facing the economy.

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – British retail sales dropped at
their sharpest pace in a year last month, a reminder of weakness
in the country’s economy after some recent signs of recovery.

Sales of food plunged 4.1 percent from March, the worst
showing in almost two years.

LONDON (Reuters) – Inflation fell twice as fast as expected last month, giving incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney more leeway to support the economy with more stimulus should the recovery weaken.

Inflation eased to 2.4 percent from 2.8 percent in March, with almost half of that drop coming from weaker petrol and diesel costs. The pound fell and British government bonds rose after the figures.

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) – British inflation fell twice as
fast as expected last month, giving incoming Bank of England
governor Mark Carney more leeway to support the economy with
more stimulus should the recovery weaken.

Inflation eased to 2.4 percent from 2.8 percent in March,
with almost half of that drop coming from weaker petrol and
diesel costs. The pound fell and British government bonds rose
after the figures.

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) – Bank of England Governor Mervyn
King offered some rare good news for Britain’s economy on
Wednesday when he presented his final set of economic forecasts
before stepping down after more than 20 years at the bank.

For the first time in years, the central bank predicted that
growth would be faster and inflation lower than it expected
three months earlier, though King still warned the recovery
could not be taken for granted.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s central bank lifted a bit of the gloom hanging over the economy on Wednesday, delivering a slightly improved outlook for inflation and growth for the first time since the financial crisis.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, presiding over his last Quarterly Inflation Report before he hands the reins to Mark Carney, said the better figures did not mean the recovery was secure.

LONDON (Reuters) – Two former Bank of England policymakers criticized on Wednesday a flagship government scheme to boost mortgages, saying it would encourage more risky lending in an economy already overburdened with debt.

Former deputy governor Rachel Lomax described the Help-to-Buy initiative as a “short-term political fix” and a “hair of the dog” approach – a reference to treating a hangover with more alcohol.

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s economy may be finally
gaining some ground, with stronger-than-expected growth in the
dominant services sector capping a week of relatively upbeat
economic news.

The services sector – which accounts for around
three-quarters of Britain’s economy – grew at its fastest pace
in April since last summer’s Olympics, boosted by the strongest
increase in new orders in almost a year.