Russia ‘has deteriorated significantly’ as Fitch cuts credit rating
Fitch has written a scathing assesment of Russia’s economy after downgrading it to BBB
By Andrew Trotman
TelegraphUK
09 Jan 2015
Fitch has downgraded Russia’s credit rating and painted a horrific picture of a struggling economy rocked by a collapsing rouble, falling oil prices, high inflation and declining international reserves.
The ratings agency cut the country to BBB- from BBB with a negative outlook, meaning further downgrades are possible.
But it was the language Fitch used in its reasoning that was most shocking.
Russia’s economic outlook “has deteriorated significantly” in just six months, Fitch stated. Gross Domestic Product will shrink 4pc this year, the agency added, far worse than the 1.5pc contraction it previously expected. “Growth may not return until 2017,” Fitch said.
Western sanctions, imposed after President Vladimir Putin’s took Russia into neighbouring Ukraine, “continue to weigh on the economy” but the plunging oil price is causing just as much, if not more, damage to one of the world’s energy giants.
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