Metalloinvest, a leading global iron ore and hot briquetted iron (HBI) producer based in Russia, has announced that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services ("S&P") has affirmed ‘BB' long-term foreign- and local-currency ratings for the company. The outlook was revised to negative from stable.
According to the published statement, S&P affirmed the ‘BB' ratings because the agency believes that the weaker Russian ruble and a favorable product mix will continue to benefit Metalloinvest's performance metrics. At the same time, the outlook was revised to negative because of the increasing uncertainty stemming from lower iron ore prices, the mounting country risk for Russia, and Russian corporations' constrained access to capital markets.