World Bulletin / News Desk

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday raised Turkey's government bond ratings by one notch to Ba1 from Ba2, and maintained its positive outlook on the country.

The agency cited a significant improvement in Turkey's public finances and the resulting increased shock-absorption capacity of the government's balance sheet.

It also noted policy actions that have the potential to address external imbalances, such as the large current account deficit, which is the largest credit risk facing the country.

"Looking ahead, an upgrade to an investment-grade rating will probably be dependent on Turkey becoming more resilient to balance-of-payment shocks, given the already favourable public-finance metrics," Moody's said in a statement.