UK's Reeves says economy is turning a corner, eyes energy investment

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - More upbeat business surveys as well as strong first-quarter gross domestic product show that the British economy is recovering from a weak end to 2024, finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Thursday.

"The most recent GDP numbers, 0.7% growth in the first quarter, the strongest in the G7, and recent business surveys ... are very positive," she said at a dinner hosted by the Confederation of British Industry. "That is good news and does show we are beginning to turn the corner."

Purchasing managers' indexes released this week have shown a recovery in activity after a sharp fall in April due to the shock of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Reeves is due to announce spending plans on Wednesday which will set government departments' budgets up to 2029, covering most of the remainder of her Labour Party's term in office.

At the dinner, she pledged to tackle high energy costs that hurt businesses and consumers and said the spending review would include more public investment in energy infrastructure.

Reeves repeated a promise not to raise taxes at a future budget by as much as at her first budget in October last year but declined to make more specific commitments on business taxation.

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