UK targeting medium term growth of 2.5% - finance minister

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Friday he was targeting economic growth of 2.5% over the medium term.

"We need a new approach for a new era, focused on growth. Our aim over the medium term is to reach a trend rate of growth of 2.5%," he said during a fiscal statement to parliament.

The fiscal statement was not accompanied by independent growth forecasts.

In March, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast growth of 3.8% for 2022 and 1.8% for 2023, while the latest Bank of England forecasts suggest the economy is already in a recession.

(Reporting by David Milliken and William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)