LONDON (Reuters) – British government borrowing was higher than official forecasts in the first six months of the fiscal year, data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the challenge facing Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in her first budget next week.
The government borrowed 79.6 billion pounds ($103.50 billion) between April and September – almost 7 billion pounds more than expected by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which produces economic and fiscal forecasts that form the basis of government budgets.
In September alone, debt was £16.6 billion, less than the median forecast of £17.5 billion in a Reuters poll of economists, but more than the OBR forecast of £15.1 billion made earlier this year.
It was the third-largest September debt total since records began in 1993.
Public debt was 98.5% of gross domestic product, the ONS said.
($1 = 0.7691 pounds)
