Policymakers will meet to decide on whether to push the button on more economy-boosting measures this week.

Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King is expected to repeat calls for more quantitative easing (QE), but experts say he is likely to fail once more to garner support amid fears about the impact on the pound.

Minutes of the March Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting showed members believed the UK stood an equal chance of slipping back into recession as it did of eking out growth this quarter.

Sir Mervyn and fellow rate-setters David Miles and Paul Fisher voted for another £25 billion of QE, which would have taken it to £400bn.

Economists predict they will remain outvoted again in April, with the MPC opting to hold QE and rates at 0.5% until the economic outlook is clearer.

With more purchasing managers surveys for the services, manufacturing and construction sectors due this week, the MPC is expected to be watching closely for further clues on first-quarter output ahead of its decision on Thursday.

Hopes have been raised that a solid performance from services firms in early 2013 may offset more woes in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

The Office for National Statistics said service sector output increased by 0.8% in January on a year earlier and was up 0.3% month-on-month, despite the impact of snow.

The initial official estimate of first-quarter economic output is released on April 25, and many experts think the Bank will wait until at least May before firing up the QE printing presses.

Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "The minutes of March's MPC meeting suggested that those against doing more QE will not have their minds changed easily.

"More QE seems unlikely at the upcoming meeting, but more stimulus should be on its way soon – although we may have to wait for [incoming governor] Mark Carney to arrive first."

The Bank has also held off from more action due to the recent weakness of the pound, which has received a battering this year after Moody's stripped the UK of its prized AAA rating and when it was first revealed that Sir Mervyn voted for more QE in February.

Sterling fell to near three-year lows on the US dollar at one stage, but has since edged back up against the dollar and euro. There are also fears more QE will fuel inflation, which rose to 2.8% in February and is predicted to increase to around 3.5% in the summer.