Fitch lowers prospects for Argentine sovereign debt to negative

Thursday, November 8th 2018 - 08:20 UTC

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The Fitch release on Wednesday anticipates a 2.7% contraction this year and a further 1.7% in 2019

The credit rating agency Fitch lowered the prospects for Argentine sovereign debt to negative, arguing the overall weakness of the economy and an uncertain scenario for fiscal consolidation in coming years.

“The intense macroeconomic instability of 2018, marked by a strong depreciation of the Peso, has dramatically weakened growth prospects in the short term”, said the official Fitch release on Wednesday, adding that it anticipates a 2.7% contraction this year and a further 1.7% in 2019.

According to Fitch, inflation this year should reach 47%, and will decelerate to 27.5% in 2019. However Fitch said it was confident the Argentine administration would manage to comply and enforce its fiscal consolidation goals.

Fitch estimates are in line with those of the Argentine private sector and some multilateral organizations.

Categories: Economy, Argentina.

Tags: Argentina, Argentine debt, Argentine economy, Argentine sovereign debt, fiscal consolidation, Fitch.

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Enrique Massot
Fitch walks a fine line between doing its job by showing the dire economic situation of Argentina while trying to reassure the world that the darling who has helped some to make fortunes will probably be doing well...sometime in the future.

“Fitch said it was confident the Argentine administration would manage to comply and enforce its fiscal consolidation goals.”

“Enforce?” Is it just me or I smell something sinister in this phrase? Usually, countries need to use riot police to “enforce” IMF conditions that target people's living conditions.

Let's see. During its first three years, the country's economy has been going downhill, with the exception of a brief period - surprise! - just before the October 2017 mid-term election.

Unable to keep borrowing from private investors, Argentina went to the IMF and the Macri government is now on life support as it readies deep expense reductions while keeping the highest interest rates in the world.

Would be nice to know where Fitch's optimism comes from about Macri's last year in government.
Nov 08th, 2018 - 08:24 pm 0
Jonaz_BsAs
Argentina will default once again. It’ll happen in 2020 or 2021. These monkeys couldn’t run a kiosk if their lives depended upon it.
Nov 09th, 2018 - 04:20 am 0
chronic
Fitch is clueless.
Nov 08th, 2018 - 06:57 pm -1

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