The credit rating agency "Fitch" revised the outlook for Iraq to stable, giving it a rating of "B-". The adjustment to the outlook reflects a smaller than expected decrease in foreign reserves in Iraq.
Iraq's classification restricts reliance on basic commodities, weak governance, high level of political risk, and an underdeveloped banking sector. Fitch expects the debt-to-GDP ratio in Iraq to fall to 74 percent in 2021, before a gradual rise towards 80 percent in the medium term.
According to the agency, the political risks, internally and externally, affect the classification of Iraq. It expects foreign reserves to stabilize in 2021 with the rise in the price of oil and the decrease in the current account deficit.
It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Ministry of Oil had announced that Iraq's crude exports rose to 2.96 million barrels per day in February. The ministry indicated that exports from Basra ports in southern Iraq amounted to 2.825 million barrels per day in February, up from 2.77 million barrels per day in the previous month.
Source (Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
