UK economy still set to contract this quarter as February sees zero growth

But it could have been much worse, says Bank of England’s chief economist

Huw Pill says the flatlining economy is still better than the deep recession that had been feared (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Britain’s economy is still expected to contract by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year amid strikes and inflation, the Bank of England’s chief economist has said after new figures revealed zero growth in February.

Huw Pill said the flatlining economy is “somewhat disappointing”, but still an improvement on earlier forecasts of a deep and prolonged recession.

“Activity in the UK remains subdued, as the level of GDP was flat over the month in February,” he said. “Bank staff continue to expect GDP to decline by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, as had been projected in the February Monetary Policy Report.”