Fitch affirms U.S. AAA credit rating

Credit-rating agency Fitch affirmed on Tuesday the United States's AAA rating, saying that the cornerstones of America's "exceptional creditworthiness" are intact.

The announcement comes 11 days after Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. credit from AAA status to AA+ and stands in stark contrast to S&P's explanation for the downgrade.

"The affirmation of the US 'AAA' sovereign rating reflects the fact that the key pillars of US's exceptional creditworthiness remains intact: its pivotal role in the global financial system and the flexible, diversified and wealthy economy that provides its revenue base. Monetary and exchange rate flexibility further enhances the capacity of the economy to absorb and adjust to 'shocks,'" Fitch posted on its website.

S&P said in its news release explaining the downgrade that the U.S. political system factored in the decision to lower the rating.

"More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011," S&P said.

Fox News first reported the announcement.