Fitch raises Romaniaaa‚¬a„¢s country rating to investment grade

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Romania’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’ and the long-term local currency IDR to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘. The outlooks are stable. At the same time, the agency has upgraded the country ceiling to ‘BBB+’ from ‘BBB’ and the short-term foreign currency IDR to ‘F3’ from ‘B’.  BBB- represents the lowest investment grade, with a stable outlook.

The rating revision reflects the country’s GDP growth, the increase in exports, the narrowing current account deficit and the reduction of the budget deficit. Romania’s economic comeback started in the first quarter of this year with a 1.6 percent GDP growth compared to the similar period of 2010. The budget deficit target for this year is of 4.9 percent, compared to the 6.4 percent in 2010 and 8.5 percent in 2009.