{"id":114324,"date":"2026-04-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/?p=114324"},"modified":"2026-04-20T07:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T07:07:24","slug":"moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/","title":{"rendered":"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit ratings agency Moody\u2019s downgraded both <\/strong>Bahrain\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> and <\/strong>Iraq\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> outlooks to <\/strong>negative<\/strong> from stable on Friday<\/strong>, ringing alarm bells over possible credit deterioration for both countries. The two countries\u2019 long-term ratings were also affirmed \u2014 Bahrain at B2 and Iraq at Caa1 \u2014 in junk territory. The agency cited oil exports disruptions (plus aluminum for Bahrain) as the regional war slows Hormuz flows to a trickle. For both Iraq and Bahrain, Moody assesses that an upgrade in the near term is \u201cunlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n

In numbers: <\/strong>Iraq saw its oil exports decline to 600k bbl \/d from around 3.6 mn bbl \/d before the conflict. Crude production also fell nearly 61% in Iraq and around 50% in Kuwait and Bahrain as storage fills up during the Hormuz blockage. <\/p>\n

Zero fiscal margin for error:<\/strong> Bahrain entered 2026 with a debt-to-GDP ratio already hovering at an unsustainable 147%. While Iraq boasts healthy reserves (USD 73 bn, excluding gold), the country is painfully dependent on the hydrocarbons sector, which accounts for half of the country\u2019s GDP and 90% of its revenue \u2014 making current export rates unsustainable fiscally. <\/p>\n

With no oil revenues and limited access to affordable debt, both countries\u2019 spe<\/strong>nding drives could be at least partly derailed.<\/strong> Iraq is looking at big capex infrastructure investments in roads, rail, and ports as part of its Development Road Project that aims to leverage the country as a transit hub. <\/p>\n

REMEMBER- It would <\/strong>take<\/a><\/strong> two years for oil and gas production in the region to go back <\/strong>to pre-war levels<\/strong>. And it could take<\/a> four to five months for heavier crude fields in Kuwait and Iraq, extending the shock into the summer. Moody\u2019s agrees with this sentiment: \u201cEven under a scenario in which the ceasefire were to be sustained, we expect it will likely take some time for flows through the strait to return to normal.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With no oil revenues and limited access to affordable debt, some of both countries\u2019 spending drives could be derailed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2696],"tags":[2564,2466,2695,2539,2538,2616],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-114324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","tag-bahrain","tag-debt","tag-economy","tag-energy","tag-enterpriseam","tag-iraq","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"e5485fe1-7315-44de-a5b3-39f8c73e4184","order":"5","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Downgraded","related_issue":[114315],"teaser":"With no oil revenues and limited access to affordable debt, some of both countries\u2019 spending drives could be derailed"},"yoast_head":"\nMoody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative - MENA+ Edition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With no oil revenues and limited access to affordable debt, some of both countries\u2019 spending drives could be derailed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MENA+ Edition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T07:07:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\"},\"headline\":\"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-20T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-20T07:07:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\"},\"wordCount\":316,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Bahrain\",\"Debt\",\"ECONOMY\",\"ENERGY\",\"EnterpriseAM\",\"Iraq\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ECONOMY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\",\"name\":\"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative - MENA+ Edition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-20T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-20T07:07:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/\",\"name\":\"MENA+ Edition\",\"description\":\"MENA+ Edition\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MENA+ Edition\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg\",\"caption\":\"MENA+ Edition\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\",\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/author\/enterpriseam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative - MENA+ Edition","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative","og_description":"With no oil revenues and limited access to affordable debt, some of both countries\u2019 spending drives could be derailed","og_url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/","og_site_name":"MENA+ Edition","article_published_time":"2026-04-20T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-20T07:07:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"enterpriseam admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"enterpriseam admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/"},"author":{"name":"enterpriseam admin","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d"},"headline":"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative","datePublished":"2026-04-20T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-20T07:07:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/"},"wordCount":316,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","keywords":["Bahrain","Debt","ECONOMY","ENERGY","EnterpriseAM","Iraq"],"articleSection":["ECONOMY"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/","name":"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative - MENA+ Edition","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-04-20T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-20T07:07:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/20\/moodys-downgrades-bahrain-and-iraqs-credit-outlook-to-negative\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Moody's downgrades Bahrain and Iraq\u2019s credit outlook to negative"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/","name":"MENA+ Edition","description":"MENA+ Edition","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#organization","name":"MENA+ Edition","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg","caption":"MENA+ Edition"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d","name":"enterpriseam admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com"],"url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/author\/enterpriseam\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"enterpriseam admin","author_link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/author\/enterpriseam\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/1137.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114359,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114324\/revisions\/114359"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue\/114315"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114324"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=114324"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=114324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}