The U.S. national debtis rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days

PUBLISHED FRI, MAR 1 202411:47 AM ESTUPDATED MOMENTS AGO

Michelle Fox@MFOXCNBC

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KEY POINTS

· The nation’s debt now stands at nearly $34.4 billion, as ofWednesday.

· Since June, the last two $1 trillion jumps occurred in about 100days.

The US Treasury building in Washington, DC, on Monday, March 13,2023.

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The debt load of the United States isgrowing at a quicker clip in recent months, increasing about $1 trillion nearlyevery 100 days.

The nation’s debt permanently crossedover to $34 trillion on Jan. 4, after briefly crossing the mark on Dec. 29,according to data from the Treasury Department. It reached $33 trillion on Sept. 15 and $32 trillion on June 15, 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 moneythe federal government borrows to cover operating expenses, now stands atnearly $34.4 billion, as of Wednesday. Bank of America investment strategistMichael Hartnett believes the 100-day pattern will remain intact with the movefrom $34 trillion to $35 trillion.

“Little wonder ‘debt debasement’ tradesclosing in on all-time highs, i.e. gold $2077/oz, bitcoin $67734,” he wrote ina 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, Harnett noted.

Moody’s Investor 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 orincrease revenues,” the agency said. “Moody’s expects that the US’ fiscaldeficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability.”