FTSE 100 on low ebb as Fitch warns of credit rating downgrade

The FTSE 100 has lost ground after Fitch warned the country could lose its top credit rating.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The FTSE 100 has lost ground in trading today (January 16th), after one key credit agency warned the UK could lose its top rating.

Senior figure at Fitch David Riley stated the organisation is not pleased that the chancellor said in his Autumn Statement that the Treasury looks set to miss its 2015-16 target to start reducing the level of net debt and that this action has weakened its "credibility".

The agency has had the UK's AAA rating on a "negative outlook" since March 2012, which means it is likely it could be revised lower.

Britain's net sovereign debt was equal to 68 per cent of its annual economic output at the end of last year and Mr Riley warned that if this rose to 100 per cent it would not be "consistent with the UK retaining a AAA rating".

At 14:18 GMT, the FTSE 100 depreciated by 0.5 per cent – or 33.8 points – to an index value of 6083.4 points.

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