The downgrade could send Treasury yields higher, making it more expensive for America to finance its mountain of debt. And that debt load is growing taller: Fitch expects America’s general government deficit to rise to 6.3% of GDP in 2023, from 3.7% in 2022.

Higher yields could mean costlier mortgage and loan payments for consumers, which could hurt consumer spending and the US economy.

US Treasury yields held steady Wednesday morning, and Goldman Sachs analysts said they don’t believe there are any significant holders of Treasury securities who will be forced to sell due to a downgrade.

“S&P downgraded the sovereign rating in 2011 and while it had a meaningfully negative impact on sentiment, there was no apparent forced selling at that time,” they said in a research note Wednesday.

China and Japan are the largest foreign investors in American government debt. Together they own $2 trillion, which is more than a quarter of the $7.6 trillion in US Treasury securities held by foreign countries. There’s no evidence they’re about to start selling off their holdings.

“Because Treasury securities are such an important asset class, most investment mandates and regulatory regimes refer to them specifically, rather than AAA-rated government debt,” the Goldman Sachs analysts said.

The tepid bond market reaction may be because investors already priced in the chaos that America’s increasingly fractured government brings — including constant debt-ceiling standoffs.

“The last-minute saves performed by Washington aren’t the kind of actions held in high esteem by rating agencies, but the lack of movement in US Treasury bonds … suggests the market has already largely quantified and assessed the damage done,” Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in a note.