KIEV, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ukraine's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at "B-" with a stable outlook, local media reported Monday, citing the agency's report.
In its report, Fitch said that the main negative factors affecting Ukraine's rating are weak external liquidity, high external financing needs driven by sovereign external debt repayments, weak banking sector, institutional constraints and political risks.
Among the positive factors, the agency named improving macroeconomic stability, declining government debt and obtaining fresh aid from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the World Bank.
Fitch forecasted that Ukraine's gross domestic product growth will slow down to 2.6 percent this year from an estimated 3.2 percent in 2018 due to tighter monetary and fiscal policies, weaker global demand conditions and commodity prices, and more moderate wage increases.
