On Thursday, S&P downgraded Mexico’s credit rating as the coronavirus pandemic and a hit to state oil firm Pemex from plunging crude prices battered the growth outlook and piled pressure on the government to lift the struggling economy.
The ratings agency cut Mexico’s sovereign rating to BBB from BBB+, and downgraded Pemex’s stand-alone credit profile to ccc+ from b-.
Mexico’s economy had already tipped into recession in 2019 and the coronavirus , which causes a respiratory illness called COVID-19 , has stoked fears of a sharper downturn this year.
Recommended: Mexico and Pemex at risk of rating downgrade in 2020
“The pronounced COVID-19 and oil price shocks, in our view, exacerbate Mexico’s already modest growth,” S&P said in a statement, leaving the sovereign rating two notches above junk .
The sovereign downgrade , though expected by a number of analysts, hit the peso , pushing it down by 2% against the dollar .
The decline in Mexico’s creditworthiness is a blow to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who has made steep cuts to some government departments to keep public finances stable.
Recommended: Fuel oil crisis threatens Pemex
Still, the leftist’s retreat from the previous government’s opening of the oil and gas sector , and his determination to revive heavily indebted, loss-making state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) have alarmed some market analysts.
S&P said the cut to Pemex’s stand-alone credit profile was driven by concerns that a weaker cash flow due to lower oil and gas prices over the next two years will hamper the company’s ability to carry out its business plan.
Luis Gonzali, a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton, said though the sovereign downgrade was expected, the outlook was a worry.
“We wouldn’t be surprised to see another downward revision within the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. “At the same time, Moody’s doesn’t take long to act, and we expect that their decision will go in the same direction.”
Further downgrades could push Pemex’s bonds into junk territory , triggering a sell-off by a number of major investors whose mandates require them to hold investment-grade assets.
Mexico’s Finance Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
S&P said it expected Mexican gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink between 2% to 2.5% in 2020 , an outlook that is less pessimistic than some other forecasters. Next year, the economy should rebound by a little over 2%, the rating agency said.
“The downgrade reflects our revised expectations that real per capita GDP growth will remain below that of peers with a similar level of economic development ,” S&P added.
Recommended: Mexico's stock market hits record low over coronavirus crisis and collapsing oil prices
Later on Thursday, J.P. Morgan also cut its growth forecast , saying it expected Mexico’s economy in the second quarter to shrink 35.5% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate and contract 7% over the course of 2020 .
S&P also put Mexico’s outlook on negative and lowered its long-term local currency sovereign credit rating to BBB+ from A- .
Coronavirus
has infected more than 500,000 people and killed over 22,000 worldwide, causing economic chaos across the planet.
Mexico’s economy shrank 0.1% last year.
Recommended: How will the business sector handle the COVID-19 pandemic?
mp