MENA countries post sharp declines in export; sovereigns face borrowing pressure
MENA countries post sharp declines in export; sovereigns face borrowing pressure
The impact of COVID-19 has widened existing fiscal and external imbalances in emerging and frontier markets, the service said in a new research report.Moody's Sovereigns Global report said COVID-19 is exacerbating liquidity pressures which have caused severe stress or default for some sovereigns."We expect double-digit contractions in exports for emerging and frontier market economies in most regions in 2020,“ said the report."The sharpest contraction will be in the Middle East and North Africa, among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) oil exporters, the region's tourism-reliant economies including Egypt (B2 stable), and those which already had high and rising macroeconomic imbalances and pressures heading into the crisis, including Jordan (B1 stable) and Lebanon (C stable).“Declining government revenueThere have been sharp declines in government revenue, Moody's said, and, significant increases in spending to cushion