Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on the state of the international economic system, within the Rayburn House Office Constructing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on June 13, 2023.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday denounced Fitch’s decision to downgrade the US’ longstanding credit standing that caused stocks to tumble.
Yellen, who spoke during a visit with Danny Werfel, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, called the move “surprising” considering the nation’s strong economic recovery from the pandemic.
related investing news
Fitch cited “expected fiscal deterioration over the following three years,” and “repeated debt-limit political standoffs” when it downgraded the nation’s rating to AA+ from AAA.
“I strongly disagree with Fitch’s decision, and I feel it’s entirely unwarranted,” Yellen said. “Its flawed assessment relies on outdated data and fails to reflect improvements across a variety of indicators, including those related to governance, that we have seen over the past two and a half years.”
Yellen touted recent robust U.S. economic numbers, with over 13 million recent jobs since January 2021, a near-historically low 3.6% unemployment rate and a monthly decline in overall annual inflation for the last yr.
CNBC has reached out to Fitch for comment on Yellen’s remarks.
“At the tip of the day, Fitch’s decision doesn’t change what all of us already know: that Treasury securities remain the world’s preeminent secure and liquid asset, and that the American economy is fundamentally strong,” Yellen added.
