Uruguay advances in the consolidation of its credit grade in the most important rating agencies in the world, with the recent improvement of the grade by Moody’s as the latest example of this. In this context, the country, which already stands out among its main competitors in the region for its lower levels of sovereign debt spread, also does so for its investment grade.
On March 16, the decision was announced that Moody’s had granted Uruguay an improvement in the country’s credit rating, raising it to Baa1, the equivalent of BBB+. Likewise, he changed the outlook from positive – which predicted improvement – to stable, as he considers that the economic present, of which he highlighted the continuous compliance with the fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, will be maintained in the long term.
This improvement was also added to those of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in April of last year, when the rating was improved from BBB to BBB+ with a stable outlook; and that of Fitch Ratings in June, which raised the investment grade from BBB- to BBB, also with a stable outlook.
This, however, is not the scenario experienced by all countries in the region. The most recent example is that of Peru, that on Thursday it received the news that S&P lowered its credit rating to BBB-, leaving it one step away from removing its investment grade in the face of difficulties policies that it faces, although it kept the outlook “stable.”
Chili It also recently received a downgrade in its credit outlook by S&P, which, although it maintained its grade at A – the highest in the region – went from “stable” to “negative” in October due to the weak political consensus in the country. . In December, meanwhile, Fitch maintained the rating at A- with a stable outlook, ensuring that the macroeconomic aspects They have a “solid” position.
Colombia also had bad news in January from Standard & Poor’s, when the agency lowered its outlook from “stable” to “negative”—as in Chile—although it maintained the note at BB+, due to a economic growth smaller than expected.
In case of Paraguay It is another positive in the region, since after 10 years, S&P raised the country’s credit rating to BB+ on February 2. The last time the grade was improved was in 2014.
The situation in Argentina and Brazil
Cases of Argentina and Brazil are more particular, not only because of the difference in the size of their economies compared to other countries in the region—and Uruguay, of course—but also due to greater vulnerability in their debt ratings.
In the case of Brazil, In July it had an improvement in its credit rating by Fitch from BB- to BB, thanks to a good fiscal performance and the great macroeconomic performance achieved with important reforms promoted by the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In December, meanwhile, it was S&P that raised the investor grade to BB for the first time in 12 years, and gave it a stable outlook.
Argentina, For its part, it traverses more winding roads, although in March it also received an upgrade from the Selective Default. Thus, S&P returned the CCC grade with a stable outlook, but still continues with a very low level of confidence.
Source: Ambito
