The Bank of England (BoE) has expanded its virus crisis support by £150 billion – warning that the return to lockdown will cause fresh economic damage, Sky News reports.

The latest meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept interest rates at their record low of 0.1 percent - defying speculation among some commentators that it could opt for negative rates for the first time in its history to encourage more lending by banks and spending.

As England entered its second lockdown of the year, the bank said its decision to unleash more quantitative easing (QE) now would help oil the wheels as large parts of the economy grind to another coronavirus-enforced halt.

The decision also reflected an "initial period of adjustment" to be expected following the conclusion of the Brexit transition period, saying its influence was based on the assumption of a trade deal being agreed by the year's end.

It announced the additional aid hours before the chancellor was due to update lawmakers on the support available to businesses and their staff from the government, including an expansion of the furlough scheme.

The size of the BoE's QE, or asset purchase program, now stands at £875 billion.

It allows the bank to release cash into the economy to support everyday activities.

The bank, in its update on Wednesday, said the extra £150 billion of aid reflected its downgraded forecasts that the economy would now remain below its pre-pandemic peak through the first quarter of 2022.

It had previously expected the recovery to have been completed next year.

However, it stopped short of forecasting a so-called double-dip recession as it expected that output, following a lockdown hit in the current quarter, would be positive to the tune of 2.4 percent during the first three months of 2021 despite an expected 1 percent hit from expected Brexit trade complications.

It believed that gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by 11 percent in 2020 as a whole.

Before the resurgence in coronavirus disruption, it had forecast a 9.5 percent hit.

The bank also upwardly revised its projections for the virus crisis hit to employment.

The Bank of England's monetary policy committee kept interest rates at their record low of 0.1 percent.

Bank of England offers £150b aid, downgrades UK growth further