By Stephen Nakrosis
Fitch Ratings said Friday it revised its outlook on Portugal’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to positive from stable.
Fitch also affirmed Portugal’s IDR at ‘BBB.’
According to Fitch, “a stronger-than-expected economic recovery, and a degree of spending restraint in the government’s pandemic response, have led to better fiscal outturns relative to the eurozone average.”
Fitch said its outlook on Portugal reflects the fact that “fiscal fallout from the pandemic has been less severe than in most European peers.”
Fitch also said while Portugal’s debt is high, “it is on a firm downward path.” The nation’s debt-to-GDP fell 7.8 percentage points in 2021, compared with an average decline of 1.6 percentage points in the eurozone, Fitch said.
The agency also said its baseline is for Portugal’s economy to expand 4.3% this year, following last year’s 4.9% increase, “despite the shock from higher energy prices and hit to eurozone growth resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2022 17:54 ET (21:54 GMT)
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