Oman and Bahrain ratings downgrades to come at high price | The National

Oman and Bahrain ratings downgrades to come at high price | The National:



"An international ratings agency downgrade of Oman and Bahrain will make it more expensive for them to borrow to finance widening fiscal deficits, analysts said. The move by Standard and Poor’s could also hit bank ratings.



S&P on Monday downgraded Bahrain’s long-term and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign rating to BBB-/A-3 from BBB/A-2, and Oman’s rating to A-/A-2 from A/A-1 because of the halving of oil prices to less than $60 a barrel since reaching last year’s peak of US$115 per barrel.



Oil prices have rebounded over the past two weeks on signs that the price slump has started to affect oil production. S&P has initiated the downgrades since it lowered its forecast for the average oil price to $55 per barrel this year, down from last year’s forecast of $80 per barrel."



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