Maybe it's just the weather, but there were distinct signs of economic spring around on Wednesday. There does seem to be a fairly sustained improvement in consumer confidence, admittedly from bombed-out levels, and some retailers are convinced that we are coming off the bottom.

Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of Marks & Spencer, said consumer confidence was being buoyed by low interest rates, rising stock markets and the extraordinary efforts of governments around the world to reboot their economies. His comments reinforce the findings of the latest GfK NOP survey, which show consumer confidence at its highest for a year. Confidence in the general economy over the next 12 months rose sharply, bringing it to levels not seen since the start of the credit crisis. People's outlook may have been boosted partly by the rebound in the stock market, which may appear rather circular, a bit of a confidence trick. But that doesn't make it any less significant.

The survey was carried out before the Budget, which may have an effect. But it is unlikely to be really negative, except for highly paid hedge fund managers, unless consumers were spooked by the state of the public finances, which is not what is suggested by opinion polls. And, if they were worried about future tax rises, they should have been cheered by Alistair Darling's hint yesterday that the ballooning cost of public sector pensions would have to be tackled, which surely must form a central plank of any future government's efforts to cut the budget deficit.

Meanwhile, in America, the shocking news that the economy shrank by 6.1 per cent in the first quarter also contained seeds of hope, if not genuine green shoots. Consumer spending rose 2.2 per cent, compared with a 4.3 per cent fall in the previous three months, particularly focused on durable goods. Consumer confidence appears to have stabilised, at least, amid signs of life in the critical housing market.

There was even some good news from British banks with Abbey, which is owned by Spain's Santander, revealing that it had actually cut the amount it puts aside for bad debts in the first quarter. Profits were boosted by the acquisition of Alliance & Leicester and much of Bradford & Bingley.

Bank share prices bubbled up, helped by some upbeat research by analysts at HSBC who concluded that the risk for investors had fallen sharply at Lloyds, RBS and Barclays. Barclays shares added another 10 per cent to 256p, more than five times their January low.

This all may prove just a kink in the curve. Spring is in the air and, as Sir Stuart says: “People are fed up with being fed up.” But that may be just enough to get things going.

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