Government borrowing reached £15 billion last month, almost £800 million higher than May last year but £600 million less than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast.
This level of borrowing is the highest since the Covid crisis, and puts government debt at an "extraordinary level", according to HSBC chief European economist Simon Wells.
With borrowing at its highest since the 1960s, Wells said the rise was a result of firstly the global financial crisis and then through Covid.
Michal Stelmach, senior economist at KPMG UK, said: “Government borrowing holds steady but the fiscal Pandora’s box awaits for the next chancellor. Interest rates are set to remain higher, debt more difficult to bring down and spending pressures continue to mount."
Government debt is now at £2.7 trillion and as a percentage of economic output (gross domestic product) it has reached 99.8%