Debt ceiling

Pedestrians walk near the New York Stock Exchange in New York Jan. 27, 2023.

 John Taggart/Bloomberg

The tension around the U.S. debt limit negotiations ratcheted up after Fitch Ratings warned the nation’s AAA rating was under threat from a political standoff that’s preventing a deal.

Fitch may downgrade its assessment to reflect the increased partisanship that is hindering a resolution despite the fast-approaching so-called X date, it said, referring to the point at which Washington runs out of cash. It moved the U.S. to “rating watch negative” under its classification. Meantime, DBRS Morningstar placed the U.S. ratings of AAA under review “with negative implications.”

Bloomberg's Margaret Collins, Michael Mackenzie, Matthew Burgess, Naomi Tajitsu, Aline Oyamada, Liz Capo McCormick and Rita Nazareth contributed to this report.