UK Deficit Shrinks but Chancellor Still Facing Debt Problems

Britain’s public finances showed a much smaller than expected deficit in October but still looked weak for the year as a whole, just a day before Chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond is likely to unveil plans for heavier public borrowing following June’s Brexit vote.

Britain ran a budget shortfall – excluding state-owned banks – of 4.8 billion pounds last month, 25 percent lower than in October 2015, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday, and below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

This marks a sharp improvement from earlier in the year, when borrowing was falling much too slowly to meet government targets – even before any major impact from June’s referendum.

Reuters

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Former Craig

Former Craig

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary. His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.