Industry up as borrowing dips on rosy outlook
UK MANUFACTURERS are still reporting rapid growth this month, while the government reveals a small decline in borrowing over a recent spurt of economic expansion.
According to a survey released by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) yesterday, for the three months to November, total orders and output growth are at the highest level the body has seen since the middle of 1995.
The news will likely be welcome for chancellor George Osborne as the Autumn Statement looms, with figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday also revealing that public borrowing for the seven months to October was down to £64.8bn, excluding one-off events, but including the effect of cash transfers from the Bank of England’s QE programme.
In the same period last year, government borrowing was £70.6bn, 8.2 per cent higher.
Net debt as a proportion of GDP, excluding the temporary effects of interventions like bank bailouts, reached 75.4 per cent in October, up from 72.6 per cent in the same month last year.
The warmer housing market also boosted stamp duty revenues, which grew 46 per cent from October 2012.