Moody's Upgrades Iceland to A1, With Stable Outlook

By Stephen Nakrosis

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the long-term issuer ratings of the government of Iceland to A1 from A2.

The agency also changed the nation's outlook to stable from positive.

Moody's said the country's fiscal and debt metrics continued to improve last year, with further improvement expected. The central government's budget deficit was reduced to 1.3% of gross domestic product in 2023, which was almost two percentage points narrower than budgeted, the agency said.

The government debt ratio has also fallen, from a high of 77.5% of GDP in 2020 to 64.2% in 2023, according to Moody's.

Iceland's economy is expected to resume robust growth next year, Moody's said, and added its economic and fiscal metrics may improve faster than currently expected.

However, Iceland's economy is small and comparatively undiversified, and sensitive to sector-specific shocks, Moody's said.

Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2024 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)

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