UK public sector borrowing lower than expected in May

Provisional estimates point to net borrowing of £16bn in May, which is an 8% fall from the same month in 2009. The budget deficit last month was £14.1bn, down from £15.7bn in May last year. Total net debt stood at £903bn, equivalent to 62.2% of GDP. This is an increase from May 2009 when net borrowing totalled £774bn, or 55.4% of GDP. Although the figures are better than expected, a major fiscal squeeze looms in the form of cuts to be revealed in next week's Budget, says Vicky Redwood, a UK economist at Capital Economics. "The 12-month rolling total of borrowing appears to have ...