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According to the latest quarterly inflation report, the second half of 2009 will bring economic contraction of around 4.5 per cent, with recovery not expected to take place until 2010.
"The prospects for economic growth remain unusually uncertain," the Bank said in a statement, adding that this reflects the "exceptional economic and financial factors affecting the outlook".
Mervyn King, governor of the Bank, stated that while there are suggestions that the economy could begin to bounce back inside the next 12 months, there is no guarantee that this will occur.
The Bank of England recently announced that it is to increase its spending on quantitative easing, revealing that it is to invest a further £50 billion into the programme, which was launched in March after the Bank halted repeated interest rate cuts.
