UK net debt hits highest level in more than 60 years, topping 100% of GDP

KEY POINTS

• Public sector net debt, excluding that of state-controlled banks, came in at £2.567 trillion ($3.28 trillion), which amounted to 100.1% of GDP.
• Government borrowing in May totaled £20.045 billion, the ONS revealed, exceeding consensus expectations of £19.5 billion from a Reuters poll of economists.

Visitors look out to St. Paul's Cathedral from a rooftop in the City of London, UK.

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LONDON — The U.K. public sector net debt in May exceeded 100% of the nation's GDP for the first time since 1961, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.

Public sector net debt, excluding that of state-controlled banks, came in at £2.567 trillion ($3.28 trillion), which amounted to 100.1% of GDP.

Government borrowing in May totaled £20.045 billion, the ONS revealed, exceeding consensus expectations of £19.5 billion from a Reuters poll of economists.

This marked a £3 billion decline from the April figure, but was still more than double that of May 2022 and represented the second-highest May borrowing figure since records began, noted PwC Economist Divya Sridhar.

U.K. annual inflation remained unchanged in May from the previous month, the ONS announced Wednesday, defying economic expectations of a slight decline and piling further pressure on the government and consumers.

"This will likely drive up spending through increased debt interest payments and inflation-linked benefits and tax credits," Sridhar noted.