WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Standard & Poor's, a US ratings agency, has raised Ukraine’s sovereign credit ratings, according to the agency’s press release published on Monday.
"We are raising our foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on Ukraine to 'B-/B' from 'SD/D' and our local currency sovereign credit ratings to 'B-/B' from 'CCC+/C'. Our 'D' issue rating on Ukraine's debt not tendered in the exchange remains unchanged," the release said.
"A stable outlook assumes that over the next 12 months the Ukrainian government will maintain access to its official creditor support by pursuing needed reforms on the fiscal, financial, and economic fronts," S&P said.
Ukraine's economy has deteriorated since an armed conflict between Kiev and Donbass self-proclaimed republics' forces erupted in April 2014 in the country's southeast. Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukraine’s national currency, the hryvnia, has been devalued almost threefold, and the GDP has been continuously decreasing.
The risk of default in Ukraine in the next couple of years has reduced due to the country’s commitment to economic reforms, the release stated.
"We view the risk of another default in the next two to three years as diminished due to the Ukrainian authorities' commitment to the reforms set out in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program."
S&P added that Ukraine had completed a distressed debt exchange, the agency considered "tantamount to default."
Ukraine has received aid from international creditors, including the United States, to avoid defaulting on its debt, while concurrently trying to implement structural economic reforms.
