Economic Buzz: UK Public Sector Borrowings Surge

23 Jun 2022 , 02:32 PM

UK Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks (PSNB ex) was ?14.0 billion in May 2022, the third-highest May borrowing since monthly records began in 1993; this was ?4.0 billion less than in May 2021 but ?8.5 billion more than in May 2019, before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Central government receipts were ?66.6 billion in May 2022, ?5.7 billion more than in May 2021, of which tax receipts were ?48.3 billion, an annual increase of ?3.4 billion. Central government current (or day-to-day) expenditure was ?74.0 billion in May 2022, ?2.2 billion less than in May 2021, with the additional ?3.1 billion cost of debt interest payments made this year being offset by a reduction of ?4.9 billion in subsidies paid. Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks (PSND ex) was ?2,363.2 billion at the end of May 2022, or around 95.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), an increase of ?170.1 billion or 0.5 percentage points of GDP compared with May 2021.Powered by Commodity Insights