Italy not among countries most at risk of contagion: Moody's

Rating agency Moody's said Friday that Italy was not among the countries most at risk of contagion from the Greek credit crisis.

In a report presented one day after it sounded an alarm concerning Italy's financial condition, Moody's clarified its position and said its outlook for Italy was "stable" for 2010.

Italy was not among the hardest hit countries during the global economic downturn, as "its banking system was less exposed" and it "used fewer public resources to support the financial system and the economy", Moody's said.

Although Italy has one of the highest public debts in the world, it has a very low level of private debt and a high level of consumer savings, which make the Italian economy "substantially robust", the report said.

However, Moody's still reminded Italy of the need to reduce the ratio of public debt to gross domestic production, which currently stands at about 118 percent, and to improve the level and quality of its economic growth.

The Milan stock exchanges fell 4.27 percent on Thursday after Moody's warned that the ongoing crisis in Greece could easily contaminate Italy, and other European countries including Portugal, Spain and Britain.

Source:Xinhua