Standard & Poor's dropped its rating for Tunisia by one notch on Wednesday to a speculative 'BB/B' level due to political uncertainty and weaker economic outlook. "Despite overall stability and consensus since the removal of President Ben Ali in early 2011, we believe pronounced medium-term policy uncertainties will persist, at least until Tunisia adopts a new constitution and elects a government," S&P said in a statement.
"We do not expect this before mid-2013," it added. It gave the rating a stable outlook, however, as despite the uncertainty it expects the political transition will proceed without violence. S&P added that Tunisia's economic, fiscal, and external indicators - both in reported data and in its revised forecasts - are now weaker than it previously anticipated.