MNI 5 THINGS: UK Borrowing Revised Down Further Still

By Laurie Laird and Jamie Satchithanantham

     LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the May public sector

finances data published Thursday by the Office for National Statistics.

     - 2017/18 borrowing was revised down again in May, down by a billion to

stg30.5bn and further adrift of the OBR's last forecast of stg45.2bn. A decrease

in capital spending accounted for the bulk of the revision.

     - As highlighted by MNI, May extended a trend of monthly borrowing

undershooting its respective year-ago figure. Borrowing came in at stg5.0bn in

May, stg2.0bn below the May 17 result and a billion better than analyts'

expectations.

     - This was partially driven by record income tax receipts for the month of

May. Receipts were up 7.5% y/y to stg12.5bn, likely boosted by the strong gains

in employment made in April.

     - The bumper retail sales showing in April may have lifted VAT receipts,

which rose by 5.4% over May of 2017 to Stg11/5 billion.

     - The steady fall in borrowing could soon come to an end, with the Treasury

poised to approve a large rise in health spending in coming months.

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

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