LIMA, March 28 (NNN-ANDINA) — Economy and Finance Minister Alex Contreras affirmed that international credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s maintain Peru’s investment grade rating thanks to its fiscal strength despite the crisis registered in recent months.
“Last week, we held a meeting with rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s, and they have not mentioned anything about a lower investment-grade rating. This is fue to the country’s fiscal strength, without it, the country would have lost its investment-grade credit rating a long time ago,” he remarked.
The government official commented that the aforementioned rating agencies believed that Peru’s public debt was going to skyrocket to close to 40% of GDP after the crises, but it has remained at 34%.
“It is still the lowest debt in the region. In addition, Peru continues to register the second lowest country risk in the region and that is why this credit rating remains unchanged despite everything that has happened,” he emphasized.
The minister stressed that fiscal stability is a product of a series of institutional reforms and a set of measures that have allowed responsible management of fiscal accounts.
“Peru continues to be a strong and stable economy. If you compare the exchange rate of Peru with that of the rest of the countries, you will see a great difference in our favor,” he pointed out.
In this regard, the Finance sector’s head remarked that Peru’s fiscal soundness will allow it to face adverse shocks caused by weather-related events.
Contreras underscored that the fiscal deficit in February stood at 1.8% of GDP, lower than the levels in February of 2022 (2.2%), 2021 (8.8%), and 2020 (2.0%). — NNN-ANDINA
