Ratings agency S&P lowered Bangladesh's long-term ratings to 'B+' from 'BB' on Tuesday, citing elevated external vulnerabilities.

The downgrade reflects persistent pressure on Bangladesh's external metrics, particularly a continued decline in foreign exchange reserves, S&P said.

The country's outlook is stable, reflecting S&P's view that its per capita real growth rate will remain very strong compared with peers, the ratings agency added.

In May, Fitch downgraded Bangladesh to 'B+' from 'BB-' due to a sustained weakening of external buffers that could likely prove challenging to reverse, despite recent policy reforms.

Bangladesh has sought credit assistance from a number of countries to address its dollar shortage and declining foreign exchange reserves, with China one of the nations approached, Finance Ministry officials had said earlier this month.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )