Fitch Ratings cut Brazil's credit rating to the brink of junk, warning the country could soon lose its coveted investment grade rating as government finances deteriorate amid a prolonged recession and persistent political uncertainty.
Brazil left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday. In a unanimous decision, the central bank's monetary policy committee, Copom, kept the Selic rate at 11%, breaking a streak of nine consecutive hikes as expected by a majority of analysts and market traders.
Brazil’s currency Real declined from its highest level in two weeks after Moody’s Investors Service cited rising debt and weak growth in lowering its outlook on the country’s credit rating to stable from positive.