Gilts slide again

Gilts tumbled yet again today as investors digested Chancellor Alistair Darling's dismal borrowing needs.

In the Budget yesterday, he admitted the Government would have to issue £220 billion of bonds this year to fund its borrowing.

The figure was a full £40 billion more than most analysts had been expecting him to announce, and triggered a sharp sell-off.

Former Chancellor Norman Lamont warned the vast scale of the issuance raised the prospect that bond auctions could fail.

The debt office could not find enough buyers of a sale of 40-year bonds last month in what was the first time since 2002 that demand fell short.

In the year just ended, the Government issued £146.4 billion of bonds. Gilts fell 35 ticks this morning.