The ruble continues to fall, sanctions are biting and the slide in the price of oil shows no sign of slowing – it’s hitting Russia hard and means a credit rating downgrade to “junk” status could be on the way.
Russia’s Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Wednesday that the chances of the beleaguered country’s rating being downgraded to junk were “pretty high,” according to the Interfax news agency.
The comments come after rating agency S&P said last month that it expected to complete a review of Russia — which it already rates at just one notch above junk with a negative outlook — by mid-January.
Meanwhile, the World Bank cuts its growth forecast for Russia. It now expects the country’s economy to contract by 2.9 percent in 2015 — a sharp downward revision from a December forecast of a 0.7 percent contraction.
via CNBC
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