Bank of England warns the UK economy could contract by 30% in the first half as coronavirus hammers activity

Tolga Akmen/Pool via REUTERS

• The UK economy could shrink by 30% in the first half of the year and suffer its worst recession on record, the Bank of England warned on Thursday.
• But Andrew Bailey, the central bank's governor, predicted the economy will "pull back faster" than it did from the financial crisis. 
• The Bank of England kept interest rates at 0.1% and didn't announce further asset purchases.
• Analysts expect more quantitative easing as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer economic growth.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The UK economy could shrink by 30% in the first half of this year as the coronavirus continues to dampen activity, the Bank of England warned on Thursday. The central bank forecast a full-year contraction of 14%, which would be the nation's worst recession on record, according to the BBC.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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