UK government borrowing costs have reached their highest level since 1998, adding to the pressure on the chancellor ahead of the Budget.
The interest rate on 30-year government bonds, known as the yield, jumped to 5.698%, its highest level for 27 years, as worries grew about the state of the government's finances.
There are rising expectations that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will increase taxes in the Budget later this year in order to meet her financial rules.
On the currency markets, the pound also fell more than 1% against the dollar on Tuesday morning.
Governments borrow money from investors by selling bonds - which is a loan the government promises to pay back at the end of an agreed time.
The yield on 30-year UK government bonds - known as gilts - has been rising for some months, and this makes it more expensive for the government to borrow money due to higher interest payments.
The government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), takes borrowing costs into account when looking at whether the chancellor is meeting her self-imposed fiscal rules.
The UK government borrowed a provisional £151.9 billion in the financial year 2024 to 2025. This figure represents public sector net borrowing and is an initial estimate that is subject to revision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The UK spent £14,066 million on Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2024, which was 0.50% of its Gross National Income (GNI). This amount represents a decrease from 2023 and was in line with the government's commitment to spend 0.5% of GNI on ODA. Approximately 20% of the 2024 ODA spend, or £2,834 million, was for supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.
