UK economy out of recession

The UK economy has come out of recession, after figures showed it had grown by a weaker-than- expected 0.1 % in the last three months of 2009. The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters - the longest period since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955. There have been recent recovery signs - last week, UK unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months. The UK's had been the last major economy still in recession. Europe's two biggest economies - Germany and France - came out of recession last summer. Japan and the US also emerged from recession last year. The weak level of growth took its toll on the value of the pound, which fell against both the dollar and the euro on the money markets. 'Below expectations' "We can say that Britain has just crossed the line in coming out of recession," said BBC chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym. "It [the growth figure] was below analysts' expectations. The figure could be moved down, or indeed upwards."