CHANCELLOR George Osborne was given respite from the economic gloom after the leading credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's kept Britain's gold-plated Triple AAA status.
The move came just two months after Moody's became the first rating agency to downgrade the UK to AA1 status in a blow to the Coalition's economic recovery policies. However, S&P warned it could still downgrade the UK if economic conditions worsened.
The Treasury welcomed the S&P decision, saying it supported the Government's efforts to cut the budget deficit.
In a statement, the Treasury said: "In today's reaffirmation of our credit rating, Standard & Poor's stress the Government's commitment to continued fiscal consolidation. They specifically say a downgrade could be prompted by a change in the Government's 'willingness and ability to implement its ambitious fiscal strategy'."
l Fears over the health of the US economy and worries over a possible bird-flu pandemic caused global stock markets to plunge in value. The FTSE 100 was down 1.7% after it created far fewer jobs in March than expected.
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