According to a new report, the total borrowing by the UK government could be £13 billion lower than the target set by the government for the current year.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that the government has been on path to achieve its borrowing targets this year, based on the first five months of the year. UK’s Chancellor, George Osborne is aiming to achieve a £120bn borrowing target for the year that was set by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the total borrowing during the month of August was £13.2 billion, which is £1.3 billion lower than the same month of the previous year. Total current spending fell 2.2 per cent while receipts rose 1.4 per cent, according to the latest data released.

The data showed that excluding one-time items such as transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund and Treasury proceeds from the Bank of England’s money-printing programme, the total borrowing was £3.7 billion lower at £46.8 billion during the first five months.

IFS senior research economist Rowena Crawford said, “While the monthly data are volatile, the picture over the first five months of this financial year is one of faster growth in receipts than the OBR forecast for the year as a whole. A simple extrapolation of borrowing would suggest that borrowing this year, while still historically high, could come in around £13bn lower than forecast.”