S&P lowers Kuwait rating to AA-, outlook stable

Kuwait - Standard and Poor's (S&P) has lowered Kuwait's long-term foreign and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to (AA-) from (AA), Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported

"The oil price drop is happening alongside Kuwait's slow reform momentum, which has generally lagged that of other regional countries in recent years," the rating agency said in a report, projecting a stable economic outlook.

The stable outlook is due to “Kuwait's sizable fiscal and balance-of-payments buffers provide the government with headroom for policy measures over the next two years.”

On the other hand, S&P affirmed Kuwait’s (A-1+) short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings.

The report added that the budget deficit in 2020 is expected to exceed 10% of GDP, however, on the medium-term, it is forecasted to gradually return to a surplus.