UK government borrowing hits record high in May

British government borrowing in May soared to the highest monthly total since records began in January 1993 as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Friday.

The ONS data showed that the public sector borrowed 55.2 billion pounds (about 68.55 billion U.S. dollars) in May, 49.6 billion pounds (61.4 billion dollars) more than in the same month a year earlier.

"The substantial increases in borrowing in recent months reflect the emerging effects of government coronavirus policies," said the ONS, adding that borrowing in the current financial year-to-date is "substantially higher" than in the same period last year.

The national statistics body stated that the pandemic will continue to significantly influence the country's public finances as a result of both the introduction of public health measures and new government policies to support businesses and individuals.

Latest published data from the Office for Budget Responsibility suggested borrowing could "increase to 298.4 billion pounds (369.4 billion dollars) for the financial year ending March 2021," the ONS said.

On Thursday, the Bank of England, Britain's central bank, announced it would expand its asset-purchasing program by an additional 100 billion pounds (123.8 billion dollars) in its latest effort to boost the economy.

The new quantitative easing came three months after the bank's stimulus measures of cutting the interest rate from 0.75 percent to a record low of 0.1 percent and increasing its bond-buying program by 200 billion pounds (247.6 billion dollars) to 645 billion pounds (798.4 billion dollars).