Credit Agency Downgrades US Debt Rating

(Reuters) - Egan-Jones Ratings downgraded the credit level of the United States as Washington has struggled to reduce the federal debt burden, which is projected to surpass the size of the country's economy.

The independent rating firm, which issued the downgrade late Thursday, said its senior debt rating on the United States is now AA, its third highest rating, down one notch from AA-plus.

It also maintained a negative watch on the world's biggest economy as the federal debt load could rise to $16.7 trillion at the end of 2012. U.S. gross domestic product, in the meantime, could grow to $15.7 trillion, assuming it would grow at a rate of 2.5 percent, the firm said.

The firm downgraded the United States for second time in less than nine months "because of the lack of any tangible progress on addressing the problems and the continued rise in debt to GDP," said Sean Egan, co-founder of firm, in an e-mail statement.

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