Moody's upgrades Turkey's rating outlook to positive

Citing improvements in Turkey's economy and debt management, international credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service this week increased the outlook of Turkey's Ba2 local and foreign currency bond rating to positive from stable. "Turkey's economy has proven to be unexpectedly robust and has recovered to pre-crisis levels," said Sarah Carlson, Moody's vice president-senior analyst and lead sovereign analyst for Turkey, in a report yesterday, underlining that the country's budget deficit and debt stock have improved beyond targets in the government's medium-term economic program. The Turkish government and private sector have long been critical of the attitude of major credit rating agencies, saying many have unfairly avoided raising Turkey's credit rating to the proper level. After long refusing to adjust Turkey's credit rating, Moody's upgraded Turkey to Ba2 in January, still two levels below investment grade, while US agency Standard & Poor's raised its ranking in February to BB. Last December Fitch raised its rating to BB+, one step below investment grade.