Japanese rating agency R&I upgrades Ukraine’s credit rating by two positions from CCC+ to B, rating outlook is stable.

The analysts note that Ukraine's economy will continue to recover, its fiscal position has improved. Economic stability has increased thanks to disciplined fiscal policy, as well as monetary policy focused on inflation control. The agency reports that with foreign reserves expanding, Ukraine's resilience to external shock is improving.

R&I analysts stress that Ukraine's GDP is rising, inflation is slowing, and temporary widening of the current account deficit to 3-4% will have no impact on Ukraine's creditworthiness.

It is reported that fiscal deficits have been narrowing since peaking in 2014. In 2018, the central government fiscal deficit was 1.7% of GDP. The ratio of outstanding government debt to GDP, which started to fall after reaching 69.2% at end 2016, stood at 52.3%, and 60.9% even with government-guaranteed debt included, as of end-2018.

Following the establishment of the connection to the network of Clearstream, the international central securities depository, in May 2019, the country is witnessing an increase of non-resident holdings of domestic government bonds.