PARIS - The international ratings agency Fitch said Friday that it had placed Britain's sovereign debt on a negative watch because the government's latest official review expects debt to peak later and at a higher level than previously forecast.
Fitch keep Britain's credit rating at the highest "AAA" rating, but said in a statement that the decision to put the country on negative watch indicated "a heightened probability of a downgrade in the near term."
The ratings agency plans to complete its review of Britain by the end of April, a statement said.
"The latest economic and fiscal forecasts published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that indicate that UK government debt will peak later and at a higher level than previously expected by Fitch," it noted.
Government debt is now forecast to peak in 2016-17 at 100.8 percent of gross domestic product before starting to decline.
Fitch had said previously that if the government's debt did not stabilize below 100 percent of GDP and begin to decline towards 90 percent over the medium term, that "would likely result in a downgrade of the UK's sovereign ratings." — Agence France Presse
source: gmanetwork.com
