(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Net borrowing excluding temporary support for banks was £11.1 billion ($18 billion) compared with £12.1 billion a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said in London. The shortfall was less than the £11.3 billion median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 22 economists. Tax receipts rose seven per cent, the most since June, and spending climbed 2.5 per cent.
Britain's economic recovery has brought a resurgence in the housing market, putting Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne on course to undershoot his borrowing targets this year. The improvement may mean the government can sell fewer gilts this year than it projected in April.
"The economic recovery is starting to make its presence felt," said Martin Beck, an economist at Capital Economics in London. "The improvement in the housing market should play quite an important role in public finances now that house price are picking up as well as transactions. There will almost certainly be an undershoot now. This is good news for the government."
In the six months through September, net borrowing narrowed by 9.4 per cent to £56.7 billion from £62.6 billion a year earlier, raising the prospect that Osborne will undershoot the £120 billion projected in March. The Office for Budget Responsibility is due to announce new forecasts on December 4.
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