S&P affirms Israel's AA- rating despite political, security risks

Xinhua
15 May 2022, 07:18 GMT+10

JERUSALEM, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has kept the rating for Israel unchanged at AA-, said a statement issued by Israel's Finance Ministry on Saturday, citing the agency's report.

While the analysts at S&P decided to keep Israel's rating unchanged, they raised concerns over the political and security risks in the country, including the governing coalition's loss of its thin majority in the parliament and the widespread violent attacks in recent weeks.

"The stable outlook balances elevated geopolitical and domestic political risks and the pandemic-induced deterioration of Israel's fiscal position, against the state's persistently resilient economy, improving budgetary performance, and strong balance of payments," they explained.

The report expects Israel's economy to expand by 5.5 percent in 2022, following a very strong 8.2-percent growth in 2021 and a 2.2-percent contraction in 2020.

S&P's analysts also project for Israel an average annual inflation of 3.8 percent in 2022, "a notable upward revision from our previous forecast of 2.2 percent," according to the report.

"The affirmation is a direct result of the strong performance of the Israeli economy and of the promotion of structural reforms that encourage growth," said Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

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