We’ve avoided recession for now, but the outlook is one of perma-gloom

December's GDP was boosted by us all cranking up the heating. Actual economic growth has not looked so weak in decades

A glance back at 2022 will show that the economy held up better than some forecasters expected. The Bank of England was among many to expect the second half of last year to see the start of a recession that would stretch into 2023.

As it is, it now expects that, when they are published on Friday, official figures for gross domestic product (GDP) in the last three months of 2022 will show this was narrowly avoided.