Bahrain Currency Ratings Cut to A3 From A2 by Moody's; Outlook Is Stable - Bloomberg

Bahrain’s sovereign credit rating was lowered by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited higher oil prices needed by the government to balance its budget and the negative outlook on the banking sector.

The nation’s local and foreign-currency debt ratings were downgraded one level to A3, the seventh-highest investment grade ranking, from A2, with a stable outlook, Moody’s said in an e- mailed statement in Dubai today.

“A gradual but significant rise in the breakeven oil price in the Bahraini budget over recent years” and a “relatively modest level of official financial assets has led to a divergence between the government’s fiscal flexibility and that of rating peers,” Moody’s said in the statement.