The British economy rebounded in November after contracting during the previous month, according to official figures.
The economy grew by 0.3% during the month, which was stronger than expected and followed a contraction in October.
The services sector led the recovery, with areas such as retail boosted by Black Friday sales, the Office for National Statistics said.
But she said the long-term picture is “an economy that has shown little growth over the past year.”
Figures released last year showed the UK was at risk of falling into recession after the economy contracted between July and September.
A recession is usually defined as when the economy shrinks for three months – or quarters – in a row. The UK economy would meet these criteria if it contracted between October and December.
While the monthly growth figure was stronger than expected, ONS figures also showed that in the three months to November, the economy contracted by 0.2%.
Economists expect this to be a close outcome on whether the UK can avoid a recession.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said November’s rebound “may mean the economy has survived a recession in 2023”, but she expects zero growth for the final three months of the year.
Samuel Tombs, of macroeconomics firm Pantheon, said it was a “flip of a coin” as to whether the UK avoids deflation.
But he added: “With employment rates continuing to rise and business and consumer confidence rebounding, it would be a stretch to call this a recession if GDP actually falls a little.”
Responding to the latest growth figures, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “While growth in November is welcome news, it will be slower as inflation is brought back to its 2% target.”