This is not a drill: Britain's economy is flashing green

I WOULD be the first to admit it. My stories and commentaries on the state of the British economy have not made for very cheery reading over the past two or three years.

- Jonathan Prynn

Close friends have taken to calling me the Prynn Reaper during the seemingly interminable and gruelling cost of living crisis.

Well, I bring glad tidings. Almost uniquely in my recent experience a trio of key sets of official economic data this week have brought decently encouraging news. First, the labour market figures on Tuesday showed wage increases have slowed to their lowest level in two years, though at 5.4 percent still sufficiently far ahead of price rises to make people feel just a little better off — for a change.

Second yesterday’s inflation numbers for July revealed that many of the underlying measures of price rises, particularly in the key services sector, are falling pretty sharply now. The City was even ready to shrug off the uptick in the headline rate, from two per cent to 2.2 per cent, as a statistical blip caused by fluctuations in the pace at which energy prices are falling.