Despite recent improvements in the economy, it is still too early to say whether the recession is over, it has been revealed.

The recovery process is likely to be a slow one, noted Michael Baxter, economist at Defaqto, who said the situation is not helped by the levels of debt which have been racked up by the government.

He continued: "It appears that armageddon has been avoided. A little while ago, at the beginning of this year, some of the reports out there were so awful that people must have been extremely worried indeed."

It now looks as though this is no longer going to happen, Mr Baxter revealed, which has had a positive impact on people’s confidence.

Some mortgage borrowers will have benefited from interest rate changes, which will also have helped improve confidence among consumers, the economist added.

Yesterday (July 9th), the Bank of England made the decision to keep the base rate at 0.5 per cent, making it the fourth consecutive month it has stayed at this level.