Fitch Upgrades Rating Outlook On Czech Republic

(RTTNews) - Fitch Ratings upgraded the outlook on Czech Republic to positive from stable, on Friday.

The action mainly reflects marked improvement in fiscal balances and expectations over growth potential.

Fitch expects the general government balance to record a surplus of 0.1 percent of GDP in 2017 versus an average deficit of 4.1 percent of GDP in 2009-2013.

Moreover, a rapid decline in the debt to GDP ratio is supporting the building of fiscal buffers to face future shocks, the agency said.

Driven by stronger domestic demand and a favorable external environment, Fitch forecasts GDP growth to accelerate to 3.7 percent in 2017 from 2.6 percent in 2016. However, growth is expected to decelerate to 2.7 percent by 2019.

Further, the agency observed that the exit from the FX floor policy has not led to financial or macro instability.

The credit rating remained at 'A+'.