LONDON (Reuters) - The United States could lose its triple-A debt rating if next year's budget negotiations do not produce a downward trend in the country's debt to GDP ratio, rating agency Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday.
"If those negotiations lead to specific policies that produce a stabilization and then downward trend in the ratio of federal debt to GDP over the medium term, the rating will likely be affirmed and the outlook returned to stable," Moody's said in an emailed statement.
"If those negotiations fail to produce such policies, however, Moody's would expect to lower the rating, probably to Aa1."
(Reporting by William James, editing by Nigel Stephenson)