UK public debt exceeds $4T for first time in September

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Britain's public sector net debt exceeded £3 trillion ($4 trillion) for the first time in September, according to provisional figures released Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.

Public sector net debt reached £3.005 trillion, up £91.7 billion from a year earlier, although the estimate remains subject to revision, the statistics office said.

Debt stood at 94% of gross domestic product, down 0.7 percentage points from the same period last year.

Public sector borrowing totaled £24.5 billion ($32.8 billion) in September, rising £1.8 billion from a year earlier as government spending increased faster than revenue, according to the data.

The figure marked the second-highest September borrowing total on record, behind 2020, and exceeded the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast by £1.9 billion.

Central government debt interest payments rose 16.6% to £10.9 billion, surpassing the fiscal watchdog's forecast by £2 billion.

Borrowing during the April-September period reached £97.8 billion, down £4.4 billion from a year earlier but £6 billion above forecast, the statistics office said.

The UK's public sector net debt first surpassed £1 trillion in February 2010 following the global financial crisis and £2 trillion in June 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mücahithan Avcıoğlu