Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has cut Romania's outlook to 'stable' from 'positive' to reflect the protracted lack of political visibility since the beginning of 2007.

The agency affirmed the country's 'BBB-/A-3' foreign currency and 'BBB/A-3' local currency sovereign credit ratings. The stable outlook balances Romania's low public sector debt, high growth potential, and the prospect of long-term structural economic improvements within the European Union, against its limited budgetary flexibility and weakening external liquidity, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said. The policy challenges include structural reforms to make the most of EU membership and the containment of demand-driven imbalances, it added. Romania's current account deficit is not expected to decline significantly during the rest of this decade, and though foreign direct investment inflows will continue, net external debt, mainly to the private sector, is expected to exceed 15% of current account receipts over 2007-2009, S&P said.