LONDON: Britain's economy rebounded in January, official data showed Friday, after it narrowly avoided recession in the fourth quarter of last year despite soaring inflation.

Gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent after a 0.5-percent decline in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement, as the services sector offset a poor performance by construction and manufacturing, reports AFP.

"The main drivers of January's growth were the return of children to classrooms, following unusually high absences in the run-up to Christmas, the Premier League (football) clubs returned to a full schedule after the end of the World Cup and private health providers also had a strong month.

"Postal services also partially recovered from the effects of December's strikes." The UK economy had registered zero growth in the final three months of last year, after shrinking 0.3 percent in the prior three months.

That avoided a technical recession, which is defined as two straight quarters of economic contraction.