Brasília – The Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has said this Wednesday (25th) that the downgrading of Petrobras by credit rating agency Moody’s shows “lack of knowledge” about the government-owned company, and that the latter will bounce back “without any major repercussions.”
“What is happening with Petrobras stems from lack of knowledge. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that the company is perfectly able to recover without any major consequences,” the president said in an interview following a house delivery ceremony under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida government housing program in Feira de Santana, Bahia.
Moody’s has downgraded Petrobras’ rating from BAA3 to BA2. This means the company has moved down from investment grade to speculative grade, and signals to the market that investing in the Brazilian oil company has become risky.
“The government will always try to prevent a downgrading. This is absolutely natural. We regret the fact that the agency has not responded, but I believe we are over it,” Rousseff added.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
