Demand destruction fears rise after Iran war drove up oil and gas prices; UK government borrowing jumps – business live

2026-03-20 - 07:40

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Britain’s government borrowed more than expected last month, new data shows. The difference between total public sector spending and income widened by £2.2bn year-on-year in February, to £14.3bn. “Borrowing was higher than the same month last year and was the second-highest February figure on record. While receipts were up on last year, that was outweighed by a rise in spending, including the later timing of some debt interest payments. “However, across the first eleven months of this financial year as a whole, borrowing was down, as receipts increased by more than spending.” Continue reading...