Saturday, May 11, 2024

Baghdad

Iraq maintains its credit rating at B-/B

 Iraq maintains its credit rating at B-/B

A view of part of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Photo: Getty Images

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Finance confirmed on Tuesday that Iraq maintained its credit rating at B-/B with a stable outlook.

The latest report issued by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) credit rating agency indicated that Iraq maintained its credit rating at B-/B with a stable future outlook and an emphasis on financial and economic stability, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

The new rating reflects the ongoing economic and financial reform policy adopted by the Finance Ministry where foreign currency reserves exceeded the external public debt.

The report adopted several indicators including the Iraqi Parliament’s approval of the three-year budget for 2023, 2024 and 2025, which aims to revive infrastructure projects and economic needs.

Additionally, the formation of the new government at the end of 2022 led to political stability.

The credit rating agency expected that economic growth will reach 2.6 percent annually, between 2023 and 2026.

This economic growth is also associated with an increase in oil production and its implications for the growth of non-oil sectors. The annual inflation rate in Iraq declined to four percent in July 2023, after it was five and six percent in 2021 and 2022.