Gaza ceasefire should be positive for Israel’s credit rating — Fitch

LONDON (Reuters) – A ceasefire in the war in Gaza should be positive for Israel’s under-pressure credit rating, Fitch’s top sovereign rating analyst says.

Israel’s “A” rating is currently on a downgrade warning, or a “negative outlook” in rating agency-speak.

“We’ve got Israel on negative, I guess that’s something that’s really related to public finances associated with the war,” Fitch’s head of sovereign ratings James Longsdon says at a conference held by the firm.

“To the extent that [the war] can sort of stabilize, that would be positive I think there.”

Israel’s rating had never been downgraded before last year, but the heavy cost of the last 15 months of fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon saw it cut multiple times by major rating firms such as Fitch, S&P Global and Moody’s.