Britain's public finances swung back into the black last month but the improvement was less than economists had hoped as corporation tax receipts plunged. The figures will make grim reading for finance ministerMr Gordon Brown as he prepares next week's pre-budget report.
Mr Brown is widely expected to downgrade his forecasts for thepublic finances in the light of the economic slowdown earlierthis year.
The Office for National Statistics reported a public sectornet cash surplus of £2.53 billion last month, less thanhalf the surplus posted in the same month last year and wellshort of the £4.3 billion predicted by City economists.
For the fiscal year to date, there was a net cash shortfallof £5.2 billion pounds, compared with a surplus of £5.7 billion inthe April to October 2001 period.
Financial markets showed little reaction to the data withgilt futures remaining a few ticks weaker at 119.39 while thepound was steady at around $1.578 and 63.45 pence to the euro.
October is usually a bumper month for corporation taxreceipts, but those came in nearly three billion pounds, or 28per cent, lower than last October at 7.1 billion pounds.