FX.co ★ Moody’s raises Russia’s rating to investment grade

Last Saturday global credit rating agency Moody’s upgraded Russia’s sovereign rating to the bottom stage of investment grade Baa3. Before that the agency kept it at junk level Ba1. Moody’s was the only one among the top three global agencies such as S&P and Fitch which kept rating of the Russian federation at the bottom of the investment category BBB-.

Agency’s analysts believe that Russia’s increased rating reflects the positive impact of measures introduced by the government to strengthen public finances and reduce the country's vulnerability to external shocks, such as new sanctions.

Moody’s also reported that the US was very likely to impose new sanctions on Russia in the coming months. However, the measures taken by the Russian government in the past years are able to protect the country’s economy and finances.

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov finds the Moody’s conclusion to be fair. The official believes the fact that Russia was assigned investment rating by three leading international agencies should be a good sign for investors.