Hungary downgraded to junk status

Hungary has lost its investment grade credit rating from Moody's after the country went cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Moody's cut its foreign and local currency bond ratings to Ba1, the highest junk-level score, from Baa3.

The ratings agency, which awarded Hungary its investment grade in 1996, assigned a negative outlook.

Hungary is rated the lowest investment grade at Standard & Poor's and Fitch, according to Bloomberg.

The downgrade comes after Hungary last week asked the IMF for a credit line to help stabilise its finances.

Although its net debt to GDP is around 85% - well below countries such as Italy and Greece - it has the highest debt pile of all the eastern bloc European nations.

Moody's said in a statement: "The first driver of today's downgrade is the uncertainty surrounding the Hungarian government's ability to meet its targets on fiscal consolidation and public sector debt reduction.

"Hungary's recent requests for assistance from the IMF and the EU illustrate the funding challenges facing the country."

A host of European nations have had their credit ratings slashed in recent weeks, and France is now firmly in the sights of the agencies, although no action has been taken yet on its AAA rating.