Moody’s Glum on Hitting Deficit

• Moody’s is urging further “restraint” in The Bahamas’ public spending while predicting that the government will miss the 1.8% deficit target set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act for 2018-2019.

 

• The credit rating agency, in an update that accompanied its upgrading of The Bahamas’ outlook from “negative” to “stable”, warned that the government’s $237Mn deficit objective was still “attainable” but would likely require further spending curbs between now and end-June to hit the target

 

• Moody’s also gave more conservative economic growth projections for The Bahamas than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), forecasting that gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 1.9% in 2019 following 2%growth last year. The IMF had projected 2.1% and 2.3%, respectively.

 

 

(Source: Tribune 242)