UK public sector borrowing worse than expected in June

The UK Government's net borrowing was £14.5bn in June, marginally below the shortfall of £14.7bn one year earlier but still worse than economists had expected.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a Budget deficit of £13.3bn, with net debt at the end of June standing at £926.9bn, or 63.9% of GDP. The data pours water on the idea that the UK's public finances are on an improving trend, says Jonathan Loynes, the chief European economist at Capital Economics. "Along with an upward revision to May's deficit, June's borrowing total of £14.5bn left a cumulative deficit in the first three months of the year of £40.3bn, only a fraction below the £40.9bn figure recorded in the same three months of last year," he says. "Extra...