Budget forecasts show UK will borrow significantly more in coming years

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Britain's government will borrow significantly more in coming years than thought just a few months ago, according to forecasts presented by finance minister Rishi Sunak in his budget speech on Wednesday.

Sunak said the budget deficit in the upcoming 2020/21 financial year would rise to 2.4% of GDP from 2.1% this year, citing new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

In December, the OBR forecast that it would fall to 1.8% of GDP in 2020/21.

Sunak said the budget deficit would then rise to 2.8% in 2021/22, compared with a previous forecast of 1.6%, before falling gradually to 2.2% in the 2024/25 fiscal year.

Sunak announced the OBR forecasts as he delivered the first budget plan of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's new government.

The forecasts were finalised earlier this month and did not include up-to-date estimates of the spread of coronavirus. (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by William Schomberg and Andrew MacAskill)