British government borrowing jumped by almost a third to $18.2 billion last month compared with August 2023, taking borrowing to the highest level since treasury finances were hammered by COVID-19 in 2020-2021.

Government borrowing in August rose to the highest level for the month since the Covid pandemic in 2021. Official figures show that borrowing - the difference between spending and tax revenue - reached £13.

On Wednesday, the Fed became the latest major central bank to reduce borrowing costs, cutting its main interest by half of a percentage point to roughly 4.8% from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. It also signaled that there will be more cuts to come in the next few months.

The Bank of England held interest rates at 5.0% on Thursday and voted to run down its stock of British government bonds by another 100 billion pounds over the coming 12 months, weighing on the government's finances.

Bank of England leaves interest rates unchanged at 5% - The next reduction in the cost of borrowing is now expected in November