Tax & Spend
UK Budget Deficit Soars on Debt Costs in Setback for Reeves
- Borrowing of £17.8 billion highest for a December since Covid
- Deficit after 9 months is £4.1 billion ahead of OBR forecast
Debt interest costs pushed up UK government borrowing more than predicted last month, putting Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on course to overshoot official forecasts this year.
The budget deficit totaled £17.8 billion ($21.9 billion) in December, more than double the £7.7 billion recorded a year earlier and the highest for the month since the pandemic, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Economists had expected £14.2 billion.