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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUK government borrowing fell in SeptemberBorrowing this year has undershot forecastsSunak: recovery well underway, but pandemic has pushed up debtEY ITEM Club: stronger recovery than forecastCapital Economics: recovery lifts tax receiptsChina Evergrande shares fall sharply after $2.6bn asset sale collapsesThe fall in UK borrowing is good news for the chancellor ahead of next week’s budget, says James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation.But, Smith says, Rishi Sunak shouldn’t take it as a sign to tighten fiscal policy, given the uncertainty over the economic outlook...Public sector net borrowing of £21.8bn in September (consensus £22.6bn) was once again better than the £25.9bn the OBR forecast back in March. That means borrowing is now a whopping £43.5bn lower in the 2021/22 financial year so far than the Chancellor had expected. But we suspect Sunak will set himself some tight fiscal rules that mean there will be no major fiscal giveaway in next Wednesday’s Budget. The rebound in the economy meant that tax receipts were £62.3bn in September, which was higher than the £56.1bn in August last year and the £58.5bn the OBR forecast for September this year. The £74.1bn of government spending was a bit higher than the £73.6bn recorded last September. That was partly due to the recent rises in RPI inflation, which raised the government’s payments on its stock of index-linked gilts, meaning that £4.8bn was devoted to debt interest payments in September. Continue reading...