LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economy has finally surpassed the pre-recession peak it reached in January 2008, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimated on Tuesday.
NIESR's latest forecast suggested Britain's economy grew by 0.9 percent in the three months ending in May compared with 1.1 percent in the three months to April.
Economic recovery has taken much longer to get in gear in Britain than in countries such as the United States and Germany. They both returned to pre-crisis output in 2010.
But the rapid expansion over the past year now means that most economists expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates in less than a year - before either the U.S. Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Larry King)