The UK government borrowing remained below the forecast of the Office for Budget Responsibility in the financial year-to-date period, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday.
In the financial year to December, the budget deficit was GBP 146.8 billion, which was the second-highest financial year-to-December borrowing since monthly records began in 1993.
However, this was GBP 129.3 billion less than in the same period a year earlier and GBP 12.9 billion less than the official Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.
The OBR forecast borrowing could reach GBP 183.0 billion in the financial year ending March 2022.
With inflation set to keep pushing higher until April, borrowing is likely to return to overshooting the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast in the coming months, Bethany Beckett, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
In December, public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, declined by GBP 7.6 billion from the previous year to GBP 16.8 billion. This was the fourth-highest December borrowing since records began in 1993.
Reflecting higher inflation, interest payments on central government debt were GBP 8.1 billion in December, a December record and GBP 5.4 billion more than in December 2020.
Central government receipts grew GBP 6.2 billion from the last year, while central government expenditure dropped GBP 1 billion.
At the end of December, public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was GBP 2,339.9 billion or around 96.0 percent of gross domestic product, the highest ratio since March 1963.
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