Ratings agency Standard & Poor has warned Australia that the country’s AAA credit rating could be lowered if its budgetary performance does not improve broadly.
The agency reaffirmed Australia’s AAA rating but warned that the constant failure of the budget deficit to narrow could trigger a scenario where the rating will be lowered.
Craig Michaels, Standard & Poor’s director of sovereign ratings, was quoted as saying that the agency will closely monitor the Australian government’s success in meeting its budget forecasts in the next six to 12 months.
“We continue to believe that there is political and community consensus for prudent management of public finances, and we see the current impasse on some budget measures as reflecting disagreement on how this should be achieved,” the S&P report said.
The Treasury Department welcomed the reaffirmation of Australia’s AAA rating, making it one only a dozen countries to do so. – BusinessNewsAsia.com