UK borrowing costs reach five-year high of USD 27 bln

LONDON, Oct 21 (KUNA) -- The UK government's borrowing in September hit the highest level for the month in five years at GBP 20.2 billion (USD 27 billion), data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday.
Borrowing, the difference between public spending and tax income, was worth GBP 20.2 billion (USD 27 billion) in September, up from GBP 1.6 billion a year earlier, according to official ONS figures.
A rise in debt interest payments offset the increased amount the government had raised through tax and national insurance, it said, citing September's figure as slightly less than analysts' expectations of GBP 20.8 billion.
It showed that borrowing over the first six months of the financial year has now reached GBP 99.8 billion, which was the second-highest total for that period since monthly records began in 1993, after figures recorded during the COVID pandemic.
Public sector debt in the UK is now estimated to be at 95.3 percent of the gross domestic product, remaining at levels not seen since the early 1960s. (end) nbs.nam