British finance minister Philip Hammond met his budget deficit target in the 2016/17 financial year, avoiding another fiscal slip-up after he was forced into a tax policy u-turn last month.The shortfall in the public accounts in the 12 months to the end of March stood at 52.0 billion pounds, down nearly 28 percent from the previous year thanks in large part to the strength of the economy since the Brexit vote.The figure was marginally above a forecast of a deficit of 51.7 billion pounds made the country's budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, in March.However, the deficit figures are often revised heavily and the 300 million-pound overshoot is minimal given the overall size of Britain's budget deficit.The deficit was smaller than previous OBR forecasts including one made before Britain voted to leave the European Union last June.At 2.6 percent of gross domestic product in the 2016/17 financial year, the deficit was in line with the OBR's latest forecast.