Moody’s downgraded Turkey's rating to B1

Moody’s downgraded Turkey's rating to B1 from Ba3 and maintained a negative outlook.

Moody’s cut Turkey’s sovereign credit rating on 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. It had previously cut the rating to Ba3 from Ba2 in August last year.

Soon after the latest move, the Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry said the downgrade was not in accordance with the country’s economic indicators.

“The decision does not conform with the Turkish economy’s fundamental indicators and thus creates question marks about the objectivity and impartiality of the institution’s analyses,” it said in a statement.