Saudi Arabia A1 Rating Affirmed by Moody’s with a Downgrade in Outlook

Moody’s Investors Services (Moody’s) affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) sovereign credit rating at A1. However, the country’s Outlook was downgraded to Negative from Stable as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, coupled with the crash of oil prices at a global level. Moody’s previous downgrade on KSA was back in 2016, and its current rating assessment is above that of Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings.

According to Moody’s, the negative outlook reflects increased downside risks to Saudi Arabia's fiscal strength as a result of changes in global oil demand and prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moody’s emphasized that a sharp slowdown in Gross Domestic Pr...