The record borrowing for August follows a jump in the government’s interest payments to creditors The amount of new public sector borrowing hit a record of £15.9bn for August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The larger-than-expected figure came after higher inflation led to a rise in interest payments on index-linked government bonds.
However, the ONS said receipts from taxes were still rising.
The latest figure means borrowing in the first five months of the financial year has reached £58.1bn.
The ONS said the rise in the retail price index, which is used to set payments on index-linked bonds, meant interest payments almost trebled to £3.8bn last month, compared with £1.3bn in for August a year ago.
The forecast for borrowing for 2010-11 as a whole, though, remains £149bn, down from last year’s total of £155bn.
The ONS figures exclude the impact of financial interventions by the government, which reduce overall borrowing because of profit contributions from the part-nationalised banks.
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