On Friday, Fitch Ratings lowered Egypt’s rating by one notch from “B+” to “B”, while converting its outlook to negative, indicating that it may downgrade the rating further in the coming months due to the country’s economic problems.
In a statement, the agency spoke about the increase in external financing risks in light of the high financing needs and the tightening of external financing conditions.
Is the implementation of the International Monetary Fund program delayed?
The statement added, “All of this comes against the background of a state of extreme uncertainty in the path of exchange rates and the decline in foreign liquidity reserves.”
The agency’s statement indicated that the occurrence of “further delay in the transition to a policy of flexible exchange rates will lead to a further deterioration in confidence and may also delay the implementation of the IMF program.”
In late April, the credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, announced that it had revised its assessment of the degree of Egyptian debt prospects from “stable” to “negative” due to the “large needs for external financing” it expects regarding public finances.
Egypt is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in its history. In one year, the Egyptian pound lost half its value against the US dollar while the country’s foreign exchange reserves declined.
