UK borrows bigger-than-expected 24.3 billion pounds in April

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Britain's ​public finances showed ⁠a deficit of 24.3 ​billion pounds ($32.63 billion) last month, the second-highest borrowing for ​April ‌on record, official figures showed on Friday.

A Reuters poll ⁠of economists had pointed to ⁠a 20.9 billion-pound deficit for ​the month, the first of the financial year.

Britain's budget forecasters said in early March they expected public sector ​borrowing ‌to shrink to 3.6% of gross domestic product in the 2026/27 tax year. That would be the smallest deficit since before the COVID-19 ​pandemic.

However, the Iran war has raised the ‌risk of an economic slowdown which would hurt tax revenues and has added ‌to demands on finance minister Rachel Reeves for more public spending to protect households and businesses from ​the energy price shock.

Reeves said on Thursday that she ‌would raise more tax from oil and gas companies to fund support measures.

Investors are also nervous about ⁠the ⁠possibility of a change in political ‌leadership in Britain with many Labour lawmakers demanding Prime Minister Keir ​Starmer ​stand down. His most likely successor, ‌Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, has said he would stick with the fiscal rules being pursued by Reeves.