The economy is set to shrink by less than expected in the second quarter, Bank of England's rate-setters say.
The figures were behind the Monetary Policy Committee's unanimous decision not to pump more cash into the economy through the quantitative easing programme.
"The surveys suggested that the momentum going into the second half of the year was greater than the committee had expected in May and the near-term inflation outlook may be a little higher," the minutes said.
The MPC held rates at 0.5% two weeks ago, but caught markets off-guard by leaving the scale of its quantitative easing (QE) programme unchanged at £125bn.
Minutes of the MPC's meeting said there "had not been enough clear evidence" to suggest the QE programme should be changed.
The committee will reassess the strategy in the light of the Bank's latest detailed forecasts on inflation and growth due next month.
Although the MPC noted that corporate credit markets had improved, it will await more reliable figures on growth in the money supply before making a decision on QE.
The Bank's last set of forecasts predicted the Consumer Prices Index - which the MPC is charged with keeping at 2% - to be well below target, although inflation is proving stickier than the committee expected.
The committee is confident that factors such as its own stimulus measures, a weaker pound and firms returning to production will boost activity.
But it underlined that the weakness in the banking sector would hamper a strong recovery.
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