Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast
The agency kept the outlook stable but projected debt-to-GDP would reach 123% by 2028, citing fiscal deficits and spending pressures
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast
Photograph: Anadolu Ajansı (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Fitch Ratings affirmed the United States' long-term sovereign credit rating at AA+ with a stable outlook on 13 August 2026.
- The agency projected the US debt-to-GDP ratio would reach 123% by the end of 2028, up from 117% at the end of 2025.
- Fitch expects the general government deficit to widen to 7.4% of GDP in 2026 and remain at that level in 2027, the highest among AA-rated sovereigns.
- No left-rated outlet reported on the Fitch announcement, according to the sample of 18 outlets below.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 9 of the 18 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
52/100
Hype
25/100
18 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Fitch Ratings affirmed the United States' long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at AA+ on 13 August 2026, keeping the outlook stable. The agency cited the country's large economy, high per capita income and the US dollar's status as the world's leading reserve currency as supporting factors.
Fitch projected the US debt-to-GDP ratio would rise from 117% at the end of 2025 to 123% by the end of 2028. The agency said the government had not taken meaningful action to address fiscal deficits, which it expects to widen to 7.4% of GDP in 2026 and remain at that level in 2027. Rising military and interest costs, along with increased spending on Medicare and Social Security, were identified as pressures limiting deficit reduction.
The agency forecast US economic growth of 1.9% in 2026 and 2027, down from 2.8% in 2025. It noted weakening labour demand and a slowdown in job creation in 2026. Annual inflation was projected to average 3.4% in 2026, remaining above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
Where the reports disagree on the debt projection
Fitch projected the US debt-to-GDP ratio would reach 123% by the end of 2028, as reported by Anadolu Ajansı. Crypto Briefing reported a projection of 127% for the same period. The reports did not reconcile the difference.
What the coverage left out
None of the 18 reports in the sample below were published by a left-rated outlet. The omission is a finding: no left-rated outlet carried the story in this sample.
None of the centre-rated or right-rated digests mentioned the 127% debt-to-GDP projection reported by Crypto Briefing. The figure appeared only in Crypto Briefing's own digest.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 7 times, most recently on 15 Aug 2026, 17:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- All four centre-rated digests led on Fitch's decision to affirm the US rating at AA+ with a stable outlook. Reuters, WTVB, MarketScreener and WebProNews each cited the agency's assessment of the US economy's resilience, high per capita income and the dollar's reserve-currency status as key factors supporting the rating.
- WTVB and Reuters included Fitch's projection that the general government deficit would widen to 7.4% of GDP in 2026 and remain at that level in 2027. WebProNews noted the debt-to-GDP ratio had already reached 117% at the end of 2025 and would climb to 123% by 2028. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the 127% projection reported by Crypto Briefing.
- WTVB's full report quoted Fitch's statement that the US economy had remained resilient despite higher tariffs, government spending cuts and tighter border controls. It also noted Fitch's expectation that inflation would average 3.4% in 2026, above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
Right
5 rated outlets
- All five right-rated digests led on Fitch's affirmation of the US rating at AA+ with a stable outlook. Anadolu Ajansı, Asharq AL-awsat, Times of India, Handelsblatt and Globo each cited the agency's assessment of the US economy's resilience and the dollar's reserve-currency status as supporting factors.
- Anadolu Ajansı's full report led with the projection that the US debt-to-GDP ratio would reach 123% by the end of 2028. It quoted Fitch's statement that the government had not taken meaningful action to address fiscal deficits and that spending pressures would intensify due to an aging population. The report also noted Fitch's expectation that the US would reach its statutory debt ceiling of $41.1 trillion around the middle of 2027.
- Times of India and Asharq AL-awsat included Fitch's projection of 1.9% economic growth in 2026-2027. Handelsblatt noted Fitch's 2023 downgrade of the US rating from AAA to AA+. None of the right-rated digests mentioned the 127% debt-to-GDP projection reported by Crypto Briefing.
Read it at the source
18 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
4- Fitch keeps UK's credit rating at 'AA-' with 'stable' outlook (opens Market Screener in a new tab)
Market Screener — is Market Screener biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch keeps UK's credit rating at 'AA-' with 'stable' outlook (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- Fitch Holds U.S. at AA+ as Debt Climbs Past 117% of GDP (opens WebProNews in a new tab)
WebProNews — is WebProNews biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch keeps United States’ rating at ‘AA+’ (opens WTVB in a new tab)
Right
5- Fitch Keeps US at 'AA+', Cites Economic Resilience amid Fiscal Risks (opens Asharq AL-awsat in a new tab)
Asharq AL-awsat — is Asharq AL-awsat biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US debt burden to rise to 123% of GDP by 2028: Fitch (opens Anadolu Ajansı in a new tab)
Anadolu Ajansı — is Anadolu Ajansı biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch keeps United States at 'AA+', cites economic resilience amid fiscal risks (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Financial Policy: Fitch Confirms US Credit Rating with "AA+" (opens Handelsblatt in a new tab)
Handelsblatt — is Handelsblatt biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch Reaffirms U.S. Rating on ‘AA+', with a Stable Outlook (opens Globo in a new tab)
Not rated
9- Fitch Affirms US Credit Rating at 'AA+' (opens poslovni.hr in a new tab)
poslovni.hr — is poslovni.hr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US Credit Rating: Fitch Flags Debt Risks (opens The World Reviews in a new tab)
The World Reviews — is The World Reviews biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch Maintains Its AA+ Rating in the United States; Economic Resilience Offsets Financial Risk. (opens 大纪元 Epoch Times in a new tab)
大纪元 Epoch Times — is 大纪元 Epoch Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The US Credit Rating Has Been Announced. (opens Halk TV in a new tab)
- Fitch Reiterates U.S. "AA+" Rating, with Stable Perspective (opens CNN Brasil in a new tab)
CNN Brasil — is CNN Brasil biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch keeps United States at ‘AA+’, cites economic resilience amid fiscal risks (opens Business Times in a new tab)
Business Times — is Business Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fitch Has Affirmed the US Credit Rating at 'AA+'. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
- Fitch Affirms the U.S. Credit Rating at “AA+”. (opens BITRSS in a new tab)
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 44% are rated centre, 56% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 18. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast biased?
- Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast is one event reported by 18 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Fitch holds US sovereign rating at AA+ despite rising debt forecast?
- 18 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Fitch decide about the US credit rating?
- Fitch Ratings affirmed the United States' long-term sovereign credit rating at AA+ with a stable outlook on 13 August 2026. The agency cited the country's large economy and the dollar's reserve status as supporting factors, while noting high fiscal deficits and rising debt as constraints.
- How high does Fitch project US debt will rise by 2028?
- Fitch projected the US debt-to-GDP ratio would reach 123% by the end of 2028, up from 117% at the end of 2025. Crypto Briefing reported a projection of 127% for the same period, but this figure did not appear in other outlets' reports.
- Which outlets reported on the Fitch announcement?
- Eighteen outlets carried the story, including four centre-rated and five right-rated outlets. No left-rated outlet reported on the Fitch announcement in this sample. The centre-rated reports emphasised the US economy's resilience, while the right-rated reports highlighted rising debt projections.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
