British gov't borrowing in 11 pct annual fall

Figures released on Wednesday showed that borrowing by the British government to meet the shortfall between receipts and expenditure had fallen by 11 percent on the same period a year ago.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the government had borrowed 59.5 billion pounds (about 73.71 billion U.S. dollars) from April to the end of November, providing reassurance to policymakers who are likely to face an uncertain economic response in 2017 as Britain begins its Brexit procedure.

The reduction in borrowing, however, leaves government borrowing touching its highest ever level, at 84 percent of the total GDP or 1.665 trillion pounds.

This figure is forecast to continue rising until an unspecified time between 2020 and 2025. Endit