The UK's credit rating has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, which cited a significant weakening of the country's public finances due to the raging coronavirus and continued uncertainty over post-Brexit trade relations between London and Brussels, APA reports citing Sputnik.
According to the Fitch forecast, the country's economic output could fall nearly 4 percent this year due to the pandemic, which has already infected 14,000 people there. The agency, however, stressed that its analysts had been concerned about the UK's "fiscal loosening stance" even before the Boris Johnson government unveiled its fiscal plan to combat the crisis.
“The downgrade reflects a significant weakening of the UK's public finances caused by the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and a fiscal loosening stance that was instigated before the scale of the crisis became apparent", the rating agency said.
On Friday, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced £60 billion in extra public spending to fight the crisis. On 11 March, he unveiled the budget and promised £30 billion in financial stimulus to help businesses and the NHS cope with the coronavirus.
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