Britain to lose second AAA credit rating over debt levels, Fitch warns

Britain’s AAA credit status could face a second downgrade as credit ratings agency Fitch announced it has placed the country’s top-level credit rating on negative watch.

Reviewing Britain’s triple-A credit status in the wake of the Budget, Fitch warned the country’s lack of growth and growing debt showed there was a “heightened probability of a downgrade in the near term”.

“The persistently weak performance of UK growth, in part due to European growth, has increased uncertainty around the UK’s potential output and longer-term trend rate of growth with significant implications for public finances”, Fitch said.

The ratings agency said it plans to write a report of its review by the end of April, adding that the analysts are almost certain to downgrade the country’s privileged AAA credit status.

Earlier in February, the British pound plunged to a two-year low against dollar to $1.5073, after credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the British government’s bond rating from the top AAA to AA1 due to the country’s rising debt and slowing growth.

The currency slid once again against dollar last week, leaving the country teetering on the brink of a third recession since the 2008 financial crisis.