Fitch lowers its forecast for global sovereign debt

Fitch Ratings agency lowered its outlook for sovereign debt due to concerns about rising global borrowing costs and the possibility of a new wave of defaults.

Fitch, which monitors more than 100 countries, said the war between Ukraine and Russia was fueling problems such as high inflation, trade turmoil and weak economies, which are now hurting sovereign credit conditions, according to Al Arabiya.net.

“Higher interest rates are increasing government debt service costs,” said James McCormack, head of the sovereign ratings unit at Fitch Ratings, reducing the company’s view of the sovereign sector to “neutral” from “improving.”

Once again, the number of countries experiencing downgrades in their credit ratings began to increase this year as the pressure mounted.

It is noteworthy that the number of countries in default or whose bond yields in the financial markets indicate that this has happened, is 17, which is a record level.

These countries are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Lebanon, Tunisia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, El Salvador, Suriname, Ecuador, Belize, Argentina, Russia, Belarus and Venezuela.