Fitch affirms US AAA rating after review

Fitch Ratings Friday affirmed United States' long-term credit rating at "AAA" with a stable outlook and resolved the negative watch it placed on the country's credit rating in October. The rating agency started a review of the AAA rating of the United States in October 2013, warning the rating may be downgraded. Fitch had said a resolution would take place by the end of March. Fitch said in a statement the federal debt limit was suspended in mid February in a timely manner and in a way that avoided casting uncertainty over the full faith and credit of the United States. Fitch forecast U.S. gross general government debt to peak at 100 percent of GDP in 2014 and this is below the threshold of 110 percent that it previously identified as incompatible with a "AAA" rating. Moreover, Fitch said the United States has achieved strong fiscal consolidation and the Federal Reserve has started normalizing its monetary policy. It expected U.S. economic growth to accelerate from 1.9 percent in 2013 to 2.8 percent in 2014 and 3.1 percent in 2015.