A sharp rise in UK government borrowing has intensified concerns that ministers will have limited capacity to shield households from a looming surge in energy bills, as geopolitical tensions push inflation risks higher.
Official figures show public sector net borrowing reached £14.3 billion in February, the second-highest level for the month since records began and significantly above economists’ expectations of £8.8 billion. The figure was also £2.2 billion higher than the same period last year, underlining mounting fiscal pressure even before the escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
The data, released by the Office for National Statistics, reflects a widening gap between government spending and tax income. While receipts increased, they were outweighed by higher expenditure and the timing of debt interest payments, highlighting the growing burden of servicing the UK’s national debt.
The deterioration in the public finances comes at a critical moment. Since the outbreak of the US-Israel conflict with Iran, global energy markets have been thrown into volatility, pushing up oil and gas prices and raising fears of a renewed inflationary shock.
Economists warn that this combination of higher borrowing and rising debt costs significantly constrains the government’s ability to repeat the kind of large-scale energy support packages deployed during the 2022 cost-of-living crisis.
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