S&P puts Ukraine on CreditWatch positive

Standard & Poor’s added Ukraine’s foreign currency rating of ‘B’ and local currency rating of ‘B+’ on CreditWatch with positive implications, it announced yesterday in a statement. S&P said the move reflects increasing fiscal consolidation by the Ukrainian government and the implementation of measures required for support from the International Monetary Fund. S&P said it expects the CreditWatch placement to be resolved within a few months after the IMF makes a decision on its new standby arrangement (expected next week) and consolidation measures are implemented. Fitch upgraded Ukraine’s sovereign credit rating from ‘B-’ to ‘B’ on July 6.