LONDON (Reuters) – Global sovereign borrowing will reach $10.4 trillion in 2022, nearly one-third above the average before the coronavirus pandemic, S&P Global Ratings said in a report.
Despite an ongoing economic recovery, borrowing will stay elevated due to high debt rollover requirements and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the ratings agency said in an annual note.
While 137 countries will borrow an equivalent of $10.4 trillion in 2022, an estimated 30% lower than 2020, the overall figure is one-third higher than the average borrowing between 2016 and 2019, S&P said.
“Tightening monetary conditions will push up government funding costs,” S&P analysts said.
“This will pose additional difficulties to sovereigns that have been unable to restart growth, reduce reliance on foreign currency financing, and where interest bills are already critically high on average.”
(Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Danilo Masoni)
