London, April 23, 2024 (Financeflashnews) – The United Kingdom’s budget deficit for the past fiscal year declined, but ultimately came in much higher than anticipated. The final month of the fiscal year, March, played a significant role in this unexpected rise. The British Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported these findings on Tuesday.
- March Budget Deficit: £11.9 billion (€13.78 billion) – £1.9 billion higher than analyst expectations.
- Total Fiscal Year Deficit: £120.7 billion – £7.6 billion lower than the previous year, but £6.6 billion higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast.
- Revenue: £90.6 billion – Up £6.6 billion compared to 2022/2023.
- Expenditure: £102.5 billion – Slight decrease of £0.4 billion compared to 2022/2023.
- Public Debt:Â 98.3% of GDP – Increase of 2.6 percentage points compared to March 2023.
While the overall budget deficit decreased compared to the previous year, it fell short of the OBR’s expectations. High spending in March led to a surprising increase in the deficit at the close of the fiscal year.
Sources: https://www.ons.gov.uk/
