Reuters reports that the Confederation of British Industry said that a fall in British business activity deepened after the country began to tighten coronavirus restrictions again last month.

The balance of firms reporting growth in the three months to December slipped to -21 from -16 a month earlier, although it remained a long way above a pandemic crisis low of -71 in June, the CBI's monthly growth indicator showed.

The survey was carried out before last weekend's introduction of new, tougher restrictions for London and surrounding areas as well as other regions in the United Kingdom.

British businesses are also facing uncertainty about the country's trading relationship with the European Union ahead of the Dec. 31 expiry of a post-Brexit transition period.

A measure of expectations for the next three months stood at -18, an improvement from November but still suggesting little recovery in early 2021.

Economists say that an extension of the latest coronavirus restrictions into January could push Britain's economy into a new recession, albeit a less severe one than in 2020.