Osborne cautions against going overboard on economic recovery

Chancellor George Osborne has called on cabinet colleagues "not to get ahead of themselves" about the economic recovery in the UK.

According to The Telegraph, Osborne said the world economy remained volatile and a further crisis could be shattering for the UK recovery.

The report cited a senior government source saying earlier that the UK was moving away from ''bucket economies'' in the eurozone and was joining the US.

The report said a senior government source had earlier said the UK was increasingly distancing itself from "bucket economies" in the eurozone and was joining the US in terms of growth.

Speaking as he arrived at the G20, Osborne said, this was the first time the G20 had met in recent years without  any sense of crisis about the global economy. He added that the performance of some advanced economies had been better than when leaders met last year or during the conclave of finance ministers in July.

"We are still in the early stages of recovery. We still have great economic challenges. I arrive at this summit as the finance minister with pretty much the highest budget deficit around the table, even though it has come down by a third.

"So we have a long way to make up for what happened. We are still in the early stages of that journey."

Cautioning on being too optimistic on the recovery he said, "I don't think anyone should get ahead of themselves: unemployment is too high, the deficit is still too high. Yes we have had better economic news and yes confidence is improving, but as we have seen many times events can overwhelm and shake that confidence."

The UK's surging economy was leaving the rest of Europe in the slow lane, according to the UK government claims today as world leaders met to compare the pace of growth, Mailonline reported.

Though Osborne cautioned against complacency, after a string of positive economic data, there was confidence among senior ministers that the economic revival was gaining momentum, the report said.

Predictions now pointed to the UK having the best-performing major economy in the developed world for the rest of the year.

The OECD think tank had revised upwards it growth forecast for the UK, with the economy expected to expand by 1.5 per cent in 2013, up from its prediction of 0.8 per cent issued in May.

The projection comes following data showing high street sales were rising and UK factories were seeking the biggest boom in almost 20 years.

Car sales too were up an annual 10.9 per cent in August, it emerged today - the 18th consecutive month of growth.