Indicators

US Interest Burden Hits 28-Year High, Escalating Political Risk

  • Treasury’s 2024 interest bill exceeded US spending on defense
  • The climb reflects a historically big fiscal gap, higher rates

The US Treasury building in Washington.

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
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The US debt interest-cost burden climbed to the highest since the 1990s in the financial year that’s just ended, escalating the risk that fiscal worries limit the policy options for the next administration in Washington.

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