S&P ups Venezuela

Standard & Poor's said it raised its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to B from B- and its short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the republic to B from C.

The outlook is stable.

According to S&P credit analyst Richard Francis, the upgrades reflect the prospect for diminished political instability coupled with sharp improvement in external indicators, attributable to a large current account surplus, high level of international reserves and lower external debt.

"Following the victory of president Hugo Chavez in the Aug. 15 referendum on his presidency and the independent verification by international observers [including an audit of the results], political instability is likely to diminish, although the country remains highly polarized," Francis said. "Furthermore, Venezuela's external indicators have improved substantially over the past two years."

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