Bolivia's long-term debt ratings were cut to B- from B, which puts the sovereign six notches into the agency's speculative grade rating, commonly referred to as junk status. S&P also lowered its outlook for the country to negative, which it said could risk a further lowering of its sovereign rating over the next year. S&P added that pressure on hard currency reserves is contributing to external liquidity risks and that sharp political divisions in the Andean country have restricted authorities' ability to take action. Bolivian government bond yields, a reflection of investor risk assessment, have spiked sharply this year and spreads have widened as the South American country battles a sharp fall in foreign currency reserves and a shortfall of dollars. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bolivia bond yields spike Bolivia bond yields spike (Interactive) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Javier Lopez de Lerida and Daniel Ramos; Writing by David Alire; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Reuters Messaging: david.aliregarcia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) LA PAZ, April 19 (Reuters) - Credit agency S&P Global
lowered its rating for Bolivia's government debt on Wednesday,
pushing the South American country deeper into junk status due
to what S&P described as external liquidity weakness, according
to a statement from the agency.
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