Fitch changed the Outlook on Ukraine (BB-/BB-/Stable/Stable) back to Stable from Positive in January owing to concerns about how the economy would cope with the hike in Russian gas prices and the risk of political instability surrounding the parliamentary elections at the end of March, according to the Fitch Ratings review.
Protracted political horse-trading means that it has yet to form a coalition government, or to secure a stable (or transparent) long-term gas supply contract with Russia. Ukraine’s growth potential and relatively low public and external debt ratios mean that some positive rating action is possible, but Fitch would first need greater confidence that the economy can weather the gas shock and that a stable government can be formed.
There have been no recent changes to the ratings of Moldova (B- /B/Stable/Stable), which has also seen an increase in Russian gas prices.
