The
U.S.
Treasury
building
in
Washington,
D.C.,
on
March
13,
2023.
Al
Drago
|
Bloomberg
|
Getty
Images
The
debt
load
of
the
U.S.
is
growing
at
a
quicker
clip
in
recent
months,
increasing
about
$1
trillion
nearly
every
100
days.
The
nation’s
debt
permanently
crossed
over
to
$34
trillion
on
Jan.
4,
after
briefly
crossing
the
mark
on
Dec.
29,
according
to
data
from
the
U.S.
Department
of
the
Treasury.
It
reached
$33
trillion
on
Sept.
15,
2023,
and
$32
trillion
on
June
15,
2023,
hitting
this
accelerated
pace.
Before
that,
the
$1
trillion
move
higher
from
$31
trillion
took
about
eight
months.
U.S.
debt,
which
is
the
amount
of
money
the
federal
government
borrows
to
cover
operating
expenses,
now
stands
at
nearly
$34.4
billion,
as
of
Wednesday.
Bank
of
America
investment
strategist
Michael
Hartnett
believes
the
100-day
pattern
will
remain
intact
with
the
move
from
$34
trillion
to
$35
trillion.
“Little
wonder
‘debt
debasement’
trades
closing
in
on
all-time
highs,
i.e.
gold
$2077/oz,
bitcoin
$67734,”
he
wrote
in
a
note
Thursday.
Spot
gold
is
currently
hovering
around
$2,084
an
ounce,
while
bitcoin
was
recently
around
$61,443.
The
cryptocurrency
in
February
closed
out
its
best
month
since
2020,
briefly
trading
above
$64,000
on
Wednesday
before
pulling
back.
Inflows
into
crypto
funds
are
on
course
for
a
“blowout
year,”
with
an
annualized
inflow
of
$44.7
billion
so
far
this
year,
Hartnett
noted.
Moody’s
Investors
Service
lowered
its
ratings
outlook
on
the
U.S.
government
to
negative
from
stable
in
November
due
to
the
rising
risks
of
the
country’s
fiscal
strength.
“In
the
context
of
higher
interest
rates,
without
effective
fiscal
policy
measures
to
reduce
government
spending
or
increase
revenues,”
the
agency
said.
“Moody’s
expects
that
the
US’
fiscal
deficits
will
remain
very
large,
significantly
weakening
debt
affordability.”
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