Mervyn King, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, has been tipped to give the Chancellor a helpful boost this week by upgrading growth prospects for the embattled UK economy.
European markets and the US dollar have extended losses after US GDP came in at a lower than expected 2.5% in Q1.
The UK's stagnating economy avoided a triple-dip recession today after initial estimates showed it expanded 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013.