Surprise news of UK growth masks increasing pain from inflation

Analysis: May is only one month and there is likely to be a sharp contraction in June

• UK economy returns to growth amid holiday boom
• Business live updates: UK economy grows 0.5% in May

Crisis, what crisis? Stagflation, what stagflation? On the face of it, the solid rise in UK economic activity in May suggests the outlook is not as bad as previously feared.

No question, the monthly estimate of growth from the Office for National Statistics was a surprise for the financial markets - and for once a surprise on the upside.