In some of his most upbeat comments since the crisis, Sir Mervyn claimed “there is momentum behind the recovery that’s coming” and that “good progress” has been made towards a new, sustainable economy in the last few years.



“I think that during the course of 2013 we will see the recovery come into sight,” he said. “If you take away what happened in the North Sea oil production and in construction, the UK economy last year grew by 1.5pc.” Overall, the economy grew by 0.2pc in 2012, according to the latest official data, and is expected to grow 1.2pc this year.



He also retreated from his earlier attempt to talk down the pound. Having said last year that the 8pc appreciation in sterling “was not a welcome development”, he cheered its recent decline to a two-and-a-half year low and suggested the pound had fallen far enough.



“We’re certainly not looking to push sterling down,” he said. “We are moving to a properly valued exchange rate. I think we’re probably there.”