Sir Mervyn King and economists see UK on the cusp of recovery. Do you agree? Jeremy Batstone-Carr, economist at Charles Stanley, said he expected the UK to see "mild acceleration" as the global economy achieved "microscopic" traction, which would be enough to boost the economy in the coming months. "I do think the economy is starting to turn a corner but it will be more towards the end of the second quarter and into the third when we see more traction being achieved," he said. This will also be good for sentiment, especially as business sentiment is at a pretty low ebb at the moment. There has been a mix of data out today, with the number of unemployed people rising for the third consecutive to hit 7.8pc and figures showing the squeeze on household incomes as wages grow at their slowest rate in four years, well below inflation. Sir Mervyn King, presenting his final Inflation Report before he retires next month, said there had been a "welcome change" in the economic outlook and now expects growth of 0.5pc in the second quarter. "It's possible that we will see that growth in the second quarter," the economist added Henderson Global Investors" Simon Ward was even more optimistic. He believes the economy turned a corner in the third quarter of last year, when underlying trends started to improve. "My basis for that optimism is money supply growth picking up, which it has continued to do and I see no slow down," he said. He was also positive on today's employment figures as he primarily looks at the number of vacancies, which had increased to 503,000 between February and April, up from 499,000 in the three months to March. "I look at vacancies as the most leading component of the numbers and from that employment is on an upward trend," he said. I do expect unemployment fall but it will be very gradually. Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank, saw an improvement in the economy but was more cautious and said it was not a case of the UK economy turning a corner, more that the "road was not as bent as we thought it was." "I am a bit wary of interpreting a positive message coming out of the Bank," he said. The Bank hasn't changed its outlook hugely, it is just a modest uptick. However, the economist said that while Sir Mervyn's forecast of 0.5pc growth in the second quarter was "a bit on the high side" it was not "completely off the wall." David Kern, chief economist at the British Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand said the central bank had been too optimistic in today's report. "While we have always felt that the earlier gloom over the UK economy has been exaggerated, the positive trends outlined within Governor King's final Inflation Report appear to be too optimistic," he said.