Brazil to earn Moody's upgrade in Sept
Reuters, Aug 26, 2009
BRASILIA, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Brazil may earn the much-coveted investment-grade rating by Moody's Investors Service in coming weeks, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Wednesday.
Mantega, who spoke with Moody's executives recently, said the debt upgrade was likely to take place next month. Brazil already has an investment grade rating from Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
"Moody's has given us signs it will promote us to investment grade, probably in September" Mantega told journalists outside the Finance Ministry.
Moody's put Brazil's foreign and local currency credit ratings on review for possible upgrade in July, citing the country's resilience to the shocks created by the global financial turmoil.
Brazil is rated "BBB minus," the lowest investment grade, by S&P and Fitch, while Moody's rates the country "Ba1," one notch below investment grade.
The upgrade by Moody's may help Brazilian bond prices as it increases the pool of potential investors who can buy the debt under fund management covenants. Still, the impact could be limited as the country already holds an investment grade by two other major credit rating agencies.
"Some people may use it for a bit of a rally, but I don't see much impact," said Pedro Tuesta, senior Latin America economist at research firm 4Cast Inc