LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s record 128 billion pounds ($163 billion) of public borrowing in the three months to June is slightly less than expected, the country’s budget watchdog said on Tuesday, due to surprisingly strong tax revenue and a somewhat smaller rise in spending.
The Office for Budget Responsibility said borrowing was currently running 14.8% or 22.3 billion pounds below its central scenario for the 2020/21 of 322 billion pounds.
“That reflects lower departmental spending and loan guarantee write-off costs that are not yet incorporated in the outturn data, as well as surprisingly strong June tax receipt,” the OBR said.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Alistair Smout)
