LONDON, Aug 21 Reuters Britain39;s government again borrowed more than expected last month, according to official data on Wednesday that highlighted the tight financial backdrop for new finance minister Rachel Reeves as she readies her first annual budget.

British public sector net borrowing was 3.101 billion pounds 4.04 billion in July, the Office for National Statistics said. It was the biggest July total since 2021, when the deficit surged during the COVID19 pandemic.

Economists polled by Reuters had a median forecast of 1.5 billion pounds for public sector net borrowing, excluding statecontrolled banks.

The ONS highlighted rising social benefits, uprated due to inflation, and higher wages in the government as drivers of increased expenditure compared with a year ago.

1 0.7680 pounds

Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Alistair Smout and Kate Holton

Source Reuters