January figures revised up to 0.3%
Economy weaker than forecast due to a decline in services
Raises hopes that a recession could be avoided this year
How, in the three months to November UK GDP fell by 0.3%
The first month of the new financial year saw GDP fall by 0.3%
The UK economy returned to growth in February, expanding by an estimated 0.4% even as nationwide lockdowns remained in place, although GDP output remained 7.8% below a year earlier, according to the latest figures.
UK GDP was 1.2% higher in December 2020 as eased lockdown restrictions for the month helped to bring total growth for the fourth quarter of the year to 1% overall, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
The Bank of England (BoE) has voted unanimously to increase its purchase of UK government bonds by £150bn and to maintain rates at 0.1%, shunning rumours of a move towards negative interest rates.