Britain s economy shrank by less than feared in January as the country went back into a coronavirus lockdown, official data showed, but trade with the European Union was hit hard at the start of the country s new, post-Brexit trading relationship. Gross domestic product in January was 2.9% lower than in December, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a contraction of 4.9%. Britain s economy is likely to shrink by 4% in the first quarter of 2021, due mostly to the latest lockdown but also because of disruption caused by new, post-Brexit rules for trade with the European Union, the Bank of England said last month.