S&P Affirms Romania’s Sovereign Debt to BBB-, Stable Outlook

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings affirmed on Friday, April 15, the sovereign rating of Romania’s government debt to BBB- / A-3 for long-term and short-term debt in local currency and currency. Also, the rating agency confirmed the stable outlook. The evaluation comes after Fitch affirmed Romania at BBB- last week.

According to S&P, Romania’s rating is supported by its EU membership and the full access to finance in international capital markets. Also, the risks generated by the conflict in Ukraine are mitigated by the prospect of absorbing a significant volume of European funds, as well as the energy dependence of the country compared to the natural gas and oil in Russia.

The Romanian government is implementing effective measures to counter the effects of the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine. We are not the only ones to say it, says Standard & Poor’s, which confirms the country rating and the high degree of security for investors, maintaining a stable perspective.

Adrian Caciu, Romania’s Minister of Finance

According to Standard & Poor, the registration of sustainable economic growth cumulated with the reduction of the government fiscal deficit could lead to the consolidation of the productive capacity of the Romanian economy and consequently to a possible action to improve the sovereign rating of our country.

While all these evaluations of the international rating agencies are presented optimistically by the government, the constantly rising inflation, now reaching double digits, is a problem in Romania, and the protective measures are taken too slowly for the vulnerable population to take advantage of them. Also, the foreign institutions are more reserved when evaluating Romania’s potential to grow this year, estimating it at about 1.9% compared to the optimistic 5% at the beginning of the year.

This is why, despite the optimism displayed by the authorities, the average Romanians have to prepare to face one of the most challenging economic times in the months ahead.