“Public finances continues to face pressure as net borrowing reached £17.8bn in December. In large part, this has been driven by higher underlying borrowing which strips out interest payments and was £6.1bn more than expected in the nine months to December.”
“So far, lower than expected interest costs have partly offset this increase, as interest costs have been around £2bn below the OBR’s forecast. However, as the market volatility of the past week shows, uncertainty about the future path of interest rates could risk higher borrowing in the future.
“Overall public sector borrowing for 2024-25 could reach £115.3bn, somewhat below the OBR’s October estimate.”
