The U.S. Treasury is less creditworthy now than it was six months ago, due in part to the widening trade deficit, according to the results of Institutional Investor magazine's latest Country Credit Survey. The biannual report, which was released earlier this month, shows the U.S. has fallen behind Luxembourg, Finland and the U.K., to sixth-most creditworthy overall, from third-most.
To be sure, the U.S. maintains its triple-A rating among the major rating agencies and the survey solely reflects the opinions of senior economists and sovereign-risk analysts. In addition, the U.S. still ranks far above the highest double-A rated country on the list, Belgium, which is in 16th place and is rated double-A plus by Standard & Poor's.
The creditworthiness of the U.S. has been a topic of debate since Egan-Jones Ratings suggested late last year in a research note that the U.S. should be downgraded (BW, 12/10).
