Italy’s credit rating risks being lowered to non-investment grade
- Advertisement -
Italy has become the only country among countries with a good credit rating, which is a candidate for a downgrade to junk, according to rating agency Moody’s.
The agency said in a report Tuesday: “Italy, which has the third largest economy in the eurozone, has been a candidate for a downgrade of its credit rating to high risk in recent years due to high levels of debt and budget deficits.”
Bloomberg, citing Moody’s analysts Kelvin Dalrymple and Scott Phillips, said Italy’s current rating is Baa3 with a negative outlook, which means it could be downgraded in the coming months and reach a high grade. Risks”.
The two analysts added in their report that weak economic growth and high borrowing costs could lead to a further deterioration in Italy’s financial position.
Moody’s will publish Italy’s credit rating on May 19.
The current rating is one notch above junk, while the outlook for Italy has been negative since last August.
On the other hand, S&P Global Ratings last week kept Italy’s rating at ‘BBB’, one notch above high risk, with a stable outlook, meaning it is unlikely to change that rating in the coming months.
It is worth noting that Fitch Ratings will publish Italy’s rating on May 12.
This comes after the Italian economy returned to achieving “moderate” growth in the first quarter of this year in light of improved employment, as well as consumer and business confidence, according to central bank statistics.
Source: dpa + “Bloomberg”