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Minister says S&P agency highly likely to lower Russia’s rating

Russia could lose between $20 billion and $30 billion from its investment rating downgrade by S&P

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev said on Wednesday it is highly likely that the Standard&Poor's international agency will downgrade Russia’s sovereign rating.

“This probability is rather high,” Ulyukayev told journalists on the sidelines of the annual Gaidar Forum in Moscow.

Russia could lose between $20 billion and $30 billion from its investment rating downgrade by S&P, Ulyukayev said last month.

S&P announced in late December it had placed Russia’s sovereign rating on a negative CreditWatch due to the ruble’s high volatility and the weakening economy.

S&P currently rates Russia’s long-term foreign currency obligations at BBB-and national currency obligations at BBB.

“The placement of the rating on CreditWatch with negative implications reflects Standard&Poor's view that there is at least a one-in-two likelihood of a negative rating action within 90 days,” the ratings agency said. “We plan to resolve the CreditWatch placement by mid-January," it added.

On January 10, the Fitch rating agency said it had downgraded Russia’s long-term rating from BBB to BBB-, with a negative outlook.