Moody's on Thursday weighed in on the ongoing debate over the Greek debt issue bedeviling the IMF and the country's European creditors, referring to heightened possibilities of an agreement for debt relief, while also praising this week's preliminary agreement - which is expected to lead to a conclusion of the second review of the Greek bailout program.
According to the international credit ratings service, if Athens and its lenders agree over a new package of measures to ensure the Greek debt's sustainability then the country's credit rating will be boosted.
Moody's said one of the positive results from this week's agreement to conclude the review is that a scheduled loan tranche will be disbursed by creditors as planned, allowing the Greek government to cover state bond maturities and other obligations in the coming months.
Finally, the firm forecast that the Greek state's primary budget surplus for 2017 and 2018 will hover at 2.5 percent of GDP, while putting GDP growth at 1.5 percent for 2017, as opposed to a target of 2.5 percent.
