A cyclist wearing a mask rides by the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington D.C., the United States on May 18, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
The downgrade is due to the ongoing deterioration in the U.S. public finances and the absence of a credible fiscal consolidation plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Fitch Ratings, a U.S. credit rating agency, said Friday that it has lowered the country's economic outlook to "negative" from "stable" due to high budget deficits, but kept its overall rating at the highest "AAA" level.
The downgrade is due to the ongoing deterioration in the U.S. public finances and the absence of a credible fiscal consolidation plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Fitch Ratings in a statement.
A poster "SPACE FOR LEASE" is posted on the window of a building at SoHo in New York, the United States, July 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
"There is a growing risk that U.S. policymakers will not consolidate public finances sufficiently to stabilize public debt after the pandemic has passed," said the statement.
Fitch expected the U.S. economy to contract by 5.6 percent in 2020 and recover by 4 percent in 2021, with the massive fiscal policy response averting a deeper downturn, according to the statement. ■
