America’s debt problem is storing up trouble for the rest of the world

The high and rising level of US government debt risks driving up borrowing costs around the world and undermining global financial stability, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

The IMF said Wednesday that increased government spending, growing public debt and elevated interest rates in the United States had contributed to high and volatile yields — or interest rates — on Treasuries, raising the risk of higher rates elsewhere.

Its analysis found that a spike in yields on long-term US government bonds is associated with similar surges in government bond yields in other advanced and developing economies, with the latter suffering exchange rate turbulence as well.

“Loose fiscal policy in the United States exerts upward pressure on global interest rates and the dollar,” Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department, told reporters. “It pushes up funding costs in the rest of the world, thereby exacerbating existing fragilities and risks.”

 

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