Fitch improves Romania’s rating to stable

Fitch rating agency improved Romania’s rating from negative to stable and confirmed the country’s rating for long – term debt in foreign and local currencies t BB plus and BBB minus. “The improvement in external financial and economic conditions, sharper than expected narrowing of the 2009 current account deficit, passing of immediate election-related risk, adoption of the 2010 budget and expected normalisation of relations with the IMF have eased downward pressures on Romania’s sovereign ratings,” said David Heslam, Director in Fitch’s Sovereign Group. Romania’s economy experienced a sharp adjustment last year. Fitch estimates that real GDP fell by 6.9 percent in 2009, driven by falling private domestic demand. But encouragingly, this has lessened Romania’s demand for imports and supported a sharper-than-expected adjustment of the country’s current account deficit, according to Fitch Ratings.