UK closes fiscal year with lower deficit
Source: Agencies |
April 22, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE UK borrowed a lower than expected 18.6 billion pounds (US$30.7 billion) in March, closing the fiscal year with a deficit below the official forecast, government data showed yesterday.
The Office for National Statistics said the full-year deficit amounted to 141.1 billion pounds, less than the 145.9 billion pounds forecast in the March budget.
Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government wants to reduce the deficit to 122 billion pounds in the current fiscal year, scaling back from the peak borrowing of 156.5 billion pounds in 2009-2010.
"Attention is now firmly focused on how quickly the public finances improve over the coming months now that the fiscal squeeze is really kicking in from early April," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight.
There was further good news as the statistics office reported that retail sales edged up 0.2 percent by volume and 0.1 percent by value in March compared to February. Analysts had expected a decrease in March, following earlier gloomy reports about trading.
"Nonetheless, the picture's hardly rosy," said Vicky Redwood, senior UK economist at Capital Economics.
She noted that non-food sales dipped 0.3 percent by value from February, and that total sales for the first quarter gained a modest 0.3 percent compared to the previous three months.
There will be a fuller picture of the state of the UK economy next week when the statistics office releases its first estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product.
Production decreased by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, a drop blamed in part on severe weather in December.
The Office for National Statistics said the full-year deficit amounted to 141.1 billion pounds, less than the 145.9 billion pounds forecast in the March budget.
Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government wants to reduce the deficit to 122 billion pounds in the current fiscal year, scaling back from the peak borrowing of 156.5 billion pounds in 2009-2010.
"Attention is now firmly focused on how quickly the public finances improve over the coming months now that the fiscal squeeze is really kicking in from early April," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight.
There was further good news as the statistics office reported that retail sales edged up 0.2 percent by volume and 0.1 percent by value in March compared to February. Analysts had expected a decrease in March, following earlier gloomy reports about trading.
"Nonetheless, the picture's hardly rosy," said Vicky Redwood, senior UK economist at Capital Economics.
She noted that non-food sales dipped 0.3 percent by value from February, and that total sales for the first quarter gained a modest 0.3 percent compared to the previous three months.
There will be a fuller picture of the state of the UK economy next week when the statistics office releases its first estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product.
Production decreased by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, a drop blamed in part on severe weather in December.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
