Ukraine war pushed emerging European outlooks to 19-year low: Fitch

Russia's war on Ukraine has pushed down European emerging economies' credit rating outlooks to the lowest level in 19 years, Fitch Ratings said Friday. 

The war is having "an unprecedented impact on ratings in the region," the global rating agency said in a statement.

One year after the ongoing war began, the percentage of countries that have stable credit rating outlooks in European emerging countries dove to the lowest level since late 2003, it said.

That percentage fell to just over 36% this month, compared to 70% at the end of February last year, it added.

In Europe, seven countries including such as Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, and Slovakia, have a negative outlook in their ratings, while all of them have risks amid the energy crisis and fiscal policies caused by the war, according to Fitch.

The agency stressed that the war's impact on oil and natural gas prices has been negative especially for energy importers.

Fitch said it expects the war to continue this year, and its geo-political implications, economic spillovers and policy responses will remain key drivers of European emerging countries' credit ratings and outlooks.