Mubasher: Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook on Russia's Ba1 government bond rating to stable from negative.

Moody's also affirmed Russia's government bond rating and issuer rating at Ba1 and the short term rating at Not Prime (NP), according to a report issued on Saturday.

“The main driver for changing the outlook on Russia's Ba1 government bond rating to stable from negative is the government's enactment of a medium-term fiscal consolidation strategy that is expected both to lower the government's dependence on oil and gas revenues and to permit the gradual replenishment of its savings buffers,” the report indicated.

In addition, the Russian economy is now recovering after a nearly two-year-long recession.

Moody's believes that, when combined, those two factors have eased the downside risks the rating agency had identified last year when it assigned the negative outlook.