U.K. Public Borrowing Increased in October
November 21 2017 - 5:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Wiktor Szary and Jason Douglas
LONDON--The U.K. government had to borrow more in October than
it did a year ago as accelerating price growth pushed up the cost
of servicing inflation-linked debt, official data showed
Tuesday.
Britain's borrowing increased to GBP8.0 billion in October,
GBP0.5 billion higher than in the same month last year, the Office
for National Statistics said.
This was above the expectations of analysts polled by The Wall
Street Journal, who predicted a figure of GBP7.5 billion.
The data come ahead of U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip
Hammond's Wednesday speech to Parliament, in which he is due to
present his latest tax and spending plans.
The chancellor is expected to offer a gloomy prognosis for
public finances in Britain, after the official economic forecaster
said feeble productivity in the U.K. is likely to weigh on growth
and tax receipts in the years ahead.
Mr. Hammond has in recent month come under pressure from
parliamentarians in his own party to loosen the purse strings and
support stretched Britons. He has already signaled measures aimed
at accelerating housebuilding.
Economists, however, say the chancellor has little room for
giveaways and has to keep his powder dry in case of any
Brexit-linked turbulence.
Write to Wiktor Szary at Wiktor.Szary@wsj.com and Jason Douglas
at Jason.Douglas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2017 04:51 ET (09:51 GMT)
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