CARACAS: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s lowered Venezuela’s credit rating one notch to CCC+, saying “continued economic deterioration” put it at risk of a debt default in the next two years.
The downgrade puts the struggling South American oil giant deep into “speculative grade” rating territory, a warning to investors that the country faces “at least a one-in-two likelihood of default over the next two years,” S&P said.
The agency also issued a negative outlook for Venezuela, indicating the possibility of a new downgrade over the medium term. “Economic recession, high inflation and growing external liquidity pressures will continue to erode the government’s
capacity to pay external obligations over the next two years,” S&P said. AFP
