A report has concluded that the US recession lasted 18 months and was the most prolonged since World War II. The National Bureau of Economic Research said the recovery began in June 2009 while the recession began in 2007.

The report said the previous longest postwar recessions in 1973-75 and 1981-82 both lasted 16 months. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that the US economy will grow by 2.6 per cent this year.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said that it expected the US economy to expand by 2.2 per cent next year after growing by 2.5 per cent this year.