LatinNews Daily - 12 December 2018

* International credit ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, has upgraded its long-term sovereign credit rating for Paraguay from ‘BB’ to ‘BB+’. The upgrade still leaves Paraguay with a speculative or ‘junk’ rating but it moves it one step closer to the coveted investment grade (‘BBB’). In a report Fitch based its decision on the resilience to external shocks exhibited by the Paraguayan economy in recent years and its ability to maintain favourable growth, as well as the growing diversification of the economy. The reports notes that Paraguay’s economy has grown at an average rate of 4.3% in the last five years despite the economic recession in Brazil and Argentina; and that it is expected that Paraguay’s GDP will grow at an average rate of 3.9% in the next two years. In addition, the Fitch report also highlights the “prudent and consistent” macroeconomic policies pursued by the Paraguayan government and the central bank (BCP), which have allowed the country to maintain a low national debt level that currently stands at 17% of GDP.

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