Latest data released by ONS - 23 January 2018

  • Prior £8.1 bn; revised to £6.6 bn
  • Public sector net borrowing (ex-banks) £2.6 bn vs £5.0 bn expected
  • Prior (ex-banks) £8.7 bn; revised to £8.3 bn
  • April - December budget deficit £50 bn, down 12%

Full release by ONS here.

Some details on the release shows that December VAT receipts are the highest on record (£12.3 bn), which gives UK public finances a little bit of a boost here. Borrowing figures show credit from EU also helped to reduce deficit by an unusually large amount - £1.2 bn.

Not much reaction in sterling as the data point isn't really one that gets traders excited to be fair. GBP/USD at 1.3951 while EUR/GBP at 0.8772.