The UK budget deficit widened to its second-highest level for the month of November since records began in 1993, largely due to the surge in the debt cost, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.
Public sector net borrowing totaled GBP 17.4 billion in November, down by GBP 4.9 billion from the same period last year. This was also bigger than the economists' forecast of GBP 16 billion.
Current receipts grew 4.3 percent on a yearly basis, while the expenditure decreased 6.9 percent.
In the financial year-to-November, the budget deficit decreased by GBP 115.8 billion from the last year to GBP 136.0 billion. This was also the second-highest financial year-to-November borrowing on record.
During the financial year to November, interest payments increased sharply by 54.1 percent on a yearly basis.
At the end of November, public sector net debt excluding public sector banks came in at GBP 2,317.7 billion, or around 96.1 percent of gross domestic product. This was the highest ratio since March 1963.
Further, data showed that central government net cash requirement was GBP 13.1 billion in November, a GBP 10.9 billion less than in November 2020.
Tighter virus restrictions would probably prompt deterioration in the public finances by reducing tax revenues and potentially forcing the government to step up fiscal support for the most affected sectors, Bethany Beckett, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
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