By Stephen NakrosisMoody's Investors Service on Friday said it raised its outlook on Iceland to positive from stable and affirmed the country's local and foreign-currency issuer ratings at A2. The ratings firm said key drivers behind the outlook change include a reduction in the budget deficit and "bringing the public debt ratio onto a declining trend." Iceland's budget deficit is declining faster than planned, with the nation's public debt ratio expected at 63.8% of GDP at the end of 2023, 14 percentage points below its peak in 2020, Moody's said. Iceland is targeting a deficit of just 1.3% of GDP for this year, while Moody's said it's forecasting a budget deficit of 2% of GDP in 2023. Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com(END) Dow Jones Newswires07-14-23 1716ET

Source: Wall Street Journal July 15, 2023 09:19 UTC