Saudi Arabia credit rating downgraded over attacks, outlook

LONDON – Credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded Saudi Arabia over the increase in diplomatic and military tensions in the region after the kingdom’s biggest oil processing facility was attacked.

Fitch said in a report on Monday it was cutting Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit grade to A from A+ due to the tensions as well as broader weakness in the country’s finances.

The agency said it believed “there is a risk of further attacks on Saudi Arabia, which could result in economic damage.”

An attack Sept. 14 struck the world’s largest crude oil processing plant, which is in the kingdom’s east, taking out about 5% of the world’s daily production. The Saudis say Iran was behind the attack, which Tehran denies.