Turkey: Moody's move incompatible with economic data

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) – Moody’s decision to downgrade Turkey's credit rating is incompatible with the country’s fundamental economic indicators, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance said early Saturday.

The move by the credit ratings agency "raises questions about its objectivity and neutrality", the ministry said in a statement.

The agency took the action late Friday, saying the risk of a balance of payments crisis continued to rise, and with it the risk of a government default.

Moody’s downgraded the rating to B1 from Ba3 and maintained a negative outlook. In August 2018, the agency downgraded the rating to Ba3 from Ba2.

Referring to Moody's assessment of Turkey's debt being 2.6 times its reserves, the ministry said the same agency rated other developing countries with worse ratios with higher grades.

The ministry also said it regrets that many positive developments which show a clear sign of a recovery in the country's economy are being ignored, including the completion of recapitalization of state lenders, the downward trend in inflation and an increase in tourism income.

It said the credit rating agency also "unfairly" criticized the independence of institutions and free market in Turkey.

Turkey's main economic policy since 2003 has been to follow free market principles under any circumstances, the statement added.