**MNI 5 THINGS: UK Borrowing Lowest Since 06/7; Budget Surplus

By Jamie Satchithanantham and Laurie Laird

     **LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the ONS' public

sector finance data release published Tuesday by the Office for National

Statistics.

     - Full year borrowing, ex public sector banks, fell by 7.6% to stg42.6bn,

the lowest since 2006/07, comfortably undershooting the OBR target by stg2.6bn.

     - The fall in borrowing could exert pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond

to loosen the fiscal purse strings, particularly if growth slows in the first

quarter as expected.

     - There were no signs of slowdown in the March data as income and capital

gains tax receipts rose by 6.1% y/y to stg17.3bn, a record high for March,

courtesy of continued tightening in the labour market. - Government interest

payments declined by stg1.0bn to stg300mn in March. If inflation continues to

recede government outlays on index-linked gilts could fall in months to come.

     - The government budget moved into surplus in 2017/18 fiscal year, to the

tune of stg112mn, the first surplus since 2001/02.

     - The Debt Management Office tweaked Gilt issuance for fiscal year 2018/19,

increasing planned Gilt sales by stg 3.1 billion to stg 106 billion.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MABDS$,MAUDR$,MAUDS$,M$B$$$,M$E$$$,M$U$$$]