THE economy contracted by 0.6% between April and June - lower than previous estimates of a 0.7% decline, the Office for National Statistics said today.

THE economy contracted by 0.6% between April and June - lower than previous estimates of a 0.7% decline, the Office for National Statistics said today.

Meanwhile, mortgage lending bounced back during August after being negative for the first time on record during July.

Net lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, reached �1.01 billion during the month, the highest level since February, according to the Bank of England.

The rise comes after homeowners repaid �203 million more than was advanced during July, the first time lending has been negative since the Bank of England began collecting data in its current format in 1993.