The figures are likely to be good news for the Chancellor

Last month there was a public sector net cash repayment of �4.96m - boosted by a surge in corporation tax receipts.

And the public sector current budget was in surplus by �4.1bn, compared with a �0.4bn deficit in October last year.

The figures should give a boost to Chancellor Gordon Brown ahead of his pre-Budget report on 5 December.

Both figures were much better than analyst expectations - and left public sector net borrowing for the financial year to date at �20.89bn, almost �5bn lower than at the same time last year.

October's improvement was driven mainly by a 23.4% surge in corporation tax receipts, the Office for National Statistics said.

Economists suggested the surge came as a result of record profits from oil companies operating in the North Sea.

Budget boost

They said the deficit for the fiscal year may not miss Mr Brown's forecasts by as much as previously expected.

Earlier this year the Chancellor predicted that borrowing for the 2005/06 financial year would fall to �31.9bn from �36.8bn recorded for the previous year.

"For the first time for many months, the Chancellor and the Treasury will be able to get away with predicting that his target of a PSNB (public sector net borrowing) of �31.9bn in 2005-06 is attainable," said Angus McRone, senior analyst at the Centre for Economics & Business Research.

But he warned: "We believe that October's public sector borrowing figures, fortuitously timed for the Chancellor, will be followed by less good figures in the months ahead."

The current budget - which excludes government investment and is the figure used by Mr Brown to assess whether he is sticking to his 'golden rule'- is meant to be in balance over the economic cycle as a whole.