Washington (AFP) – The financial rating agency Standard and Poor’s confirmed on Thursday the AA+ rating for the United States’ long-term debt despite the recent passage of a historic $2 trillion aid package to combat the novel coronavirus.
S&P also indicated that it had no intention of changing the rating for the time being due to a stable outlook.
“The sovereign ratings on the US reflect its diversified and resilient economy, extensive monetary policy flexibility, and unique status as the issuer of the world’s leading reserve currency,” the dollar, S&P said in a statement.
Fitch Ratings last week reaffirmed the US’ AAA credit rating for the same reason.
However, S&P noted that the ratings are “constrained by high general government debt and fiscal deficits, both of which are likely to worsen this year following the economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”
The agency predicted a slight improvement in both areas “over the next three years.”
The stable outlook comes from the view that the “unprecedented” US stimulus package will limit the decline in growth and “set the stage for recovery in 2021.”
US authorities have over the past several months passed three stimulus plans for the world’s largest economy.
The most recent, passed by a large bipartisan majority in Congress, consisted of $2.2 trillion in aid in various forms, intended to help businesses survive and restart as soon as the pandemic ends.
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