Nation on the road to recovery

China added to the drip-feed of encouraging news yesterday with a top central banker saying the government's stimulus has worked better than expected and crude imports data showing a spike in demand.

Global stock markets have rallied in recent weeks on hopes the US economy will start growing again later this year and that banks were getting back on their feet after the industry was caught in the worst financial crisis in six decades.

China also plays a big part in the recovery scenario with many economies in Asia relying on Chinese demand and markets scrutinizing Beijing's data for any signs of global demand bottoming out.