Fitch: sanctions cost Russia one rung on credit ranking

Russia’s credit score at Fitch Ratings is back to where it was before the crisis in Ukraine almost half a decade ago, but uncertainty over U.S. penalties still stifles the nation’s ranking.

"Sanctions overall have great importance and they are detracting one notch from Russia’s current rate," director of sovereigns at Fitch in London Erich Arispe said.

The latest U.S. measures were softer than some investors had feared and “do not impact Russia’s fundamentals," Bloomberg cited Arispe as saying. But Fitch warned that the threat of additional sanctions hadn’t gone away and continued to weigh on Russia’s credit profile.

Fitch lifted Russia’s rating to BBB on Friday, citing its strong finances and focus on inflation, just one week after the U.S. imposed new penalties.