The cost of insuring exposure to United States sovereign debt rose on Wednesday to its highest level since 2011 after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that failure to lift the federal borrowing cap would trigger an economic catastrophe, suggesting investors are growing more nervous about the debt ceiling deadlock in Washington.
Spreads on U.S. five-year credit default swaps widened to 62 basis points, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. That’s up from a close of 59 basis points on Tuesday and more than double their level at the start of the year. It’s also the highest level since 2011, according to Refinitiv data.
