British finance minister Philip Hammond said the country's economy had remained solid during the three months running up to its planned departure from the European Union, following the release of official first-quarter economic data on Friday.

British long-run public inflation expectations rose back to their long-term average of 3.2 percent last month, while short-run inflation expectations held steady at 2.7 percent, a monthly Citi/YouGov survey showed on Thursday.

The Bank of England is unlikely to raise interest rates far or fast, even if the economy picks up following a smooth Brexit, Monetary Policy Committee member Michael Saunders said in an interview published on Thursday.

Britain's housing market showed little sign of recovery in April as properties put up for sale fell the fastest rate since 2016, according to a survey on Thursday that added to downbeat signals from the housing market ahead of Brexit.

British companies' demand for staff rose at the slowest rate since 2012 last month, according to a survey on Thursday that suggested the labour market, a bright spot in the economy ahead of Brexit, might be losing its shine.

Britain's economy will be around 3 percent poorer over the long term if it leaves the European Union and retains a customs union with the bloc, the option favoured by the opposition Labour Party, academic forecasters predicted on Thursday.

British annual house price growth picked up more than expected last month to hit its highest in over two years, mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday, contrasting with other signs of a muted housing market.

Britons splashed out in bars and restaurants at the expense of retailers in the Easter holidays last month, surveys showed on Wednesday, and there were signs that households were turning less worried about Brexit.

The Bank of England thinks Britain's closely watched business surveys might be overstating the recent weakness in the country's economy, but they appear to be working well as gauges of how major industries are faring.

Britain's giant services industry, spanning global banks to high-street hairdressers, staged only a timid recovery in April after contracting in the run-up to the original Brexit deadline in March, a survey showed on Friday.