In a statement, following the Fitch announcement regarding the increase in Portugal's rating from 'BBB+' to 'A-' (with a stable outlook), the Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, defended “the succession of positive assessments by the agencies risk rating confirms the relevance of the debt reduction strategy promoted by the Government, aiming to defend the economy”.

“Portugal achieves the best risk assessment of its public debt in 12 years,” he said.

According to the minister, “the recovery of a position among the economies with the lowest public debt risk translates into lower interest rates for Portuguese families and companies”.

Fernando Medina reinforced the argument, which he has used over the last few months, that “containing financing costs is particularly important in the current context of generalised rise in interest rates”.

The decision by the Fitch agency comes after an increase in the outlook by the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) agency and the improvement of the rating by DBRS to “A”.

Fitch justified the decision with the “sustained” fall in the public debt ratio compared to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the evolution of the budget balance.

The ‘rating’ is an assessment given by financial rating agencies, with a great impact on the financing of countries and companies, as it assesses credit risk.

Related article - Portugal's rating raised to A-