Signs of a recovery from the recession have been boosted by the news that the French and German economies have returned to growth.

Both countries had growth of 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of this year, which helped ensure that the economy of the euro zone as a whole shrank by only 0.1 per cent in the second quarter.

There was more good news from the United States Federal Reserve, which said the world’s largest economy appeared to be “levelling out” from its worst recession in decades.

The promising signs sent shares rising in Asian markets while the euro was up in trading against the pound and the dollar.

The German economy – Europe’s largest – had its first growth since the first quarter of 2008, marking the end of the country’s worst recession since the Second World War.

Economists had predicted a drop of 0.2 per cent in the quarter and UniCredit analyst Andreas Rees called the growth “surprisingly strong”, especially after the last quarter’s record-high 3.5 per cent decline.

“The most brutal recession in German economic history since World War Two with a total GDP loss of 6.75 per cent is over,” he said.

But the economy of the world’s largest exporter remains weak and, despite the positive news, it is still expected to shrink sharply for the full year.

Mr Rees said the car sector had had a “massive pick-up” in Germany thanks to scrappage schemes introduced in several European countries, giving consumers incentives to trade in old cars.

The French economy received a big boost from exports, according to government estimates.

“France is finally coming out of the red,” finance minister Christine Lagarde said.

However, Birmingham-born analyst Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners, said he did not believe the results heralded the end of the recession.

He said: “An end to technical recession it may be but probably not for real recession which is likely to drag on through most of the rest of the year.

“There are, apart from a seven per cent increase in exports, few real signs in these latest figures to suggest sustainable signs of increased demand and consumption. We are left to view the turnround to apparent growth at this stage as being little more than a seasonal adjustment on the first quarter.”

An overall drop in gross domestic product for 2009 of 2.4 per cent is still being predicted in France.