Salar posted on October 20, 2008 23:42
U.K. public sector net borrowing soared to a record level for the month of September, with spending outpacing receipts as the economy slowed, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Monday.
Public sector net borrowing totaled GBP8.1 billion in September, up from GBP4.8 billion in September 2007 and the highest level for the month on record since 1993.
The second consecutive monthly record boosted net borrowing for the first half of the fiscal year, which started in April, to GBP37.6 billion - the highest level since records began in 1946. Net borrowing totaled GBP21.5 billion over the corresponding period last year.
The September PSNB was also larger than the market consensus estimate of GBP6.9 billion from a Dow Jones Newswires survey last week. The amount borrowed this financial year stands at £37.6bn so far - more than the total amount borrowed in 2007.
The ONS said central government receipts rose 2.4% on the year in September while central government expenditures increased 5.1%.
The government is targeting a full-year PSNB of GBP43.0 billion.
The public sector net cash requirement, or PSNCR, was GBP12.6 billion compared with GBP8.7 billion in September last year. Economists were expecting a cash requirement of GBP10.5 billion.
The government is targeting a full financial year target of GBP37.3 billion. In the first six months of the year, the PSNCR was GBP21.2 billion, compared with GBP13.4 billion over the corresponding period last year.
This was also more than expected; analysts had forecast that public borrowing would reach around £10.1bn in September. The cumulative borrowing for the period from April to September of £37.59bn is up from the £21.46bn borrowed in the same period a year earlier and represents the largest total for a six month period since records began in 1946.