LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 1, 1999--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its single-'B'-minus long-term foreign currency issuer credit and senior unsecured ratings and its single-'C' short-term foreign currency issuer credit rating on the Republic of Romania. At the same time, Standard&Poor's lowered its long- and short-term local currency issuer credit ratings on Romania to single-'B' and single-'C', from single-'B'-plus and single-'B', respectively. The outlook remains negative. The lowering of the local currency rating by one notch reflects the monetary challenges Romania faces in 1999. The leu (Romania's currency) has already depreciated by 30% in nominal terms in the first three months of this year. Inflationary pressures (with monthly rates near 3%) are not abating, rendering interest reduction
