OREANDA-NEWS. July 07, 2011. Fitch Ratings decided to upgrade Estonia's sovereign rating to A+ with a stable outlook, reported the press-centre of Eesti Pank.

Fitch says that the rebound in Estonia's economic growth is mainly driven by strong export growth and that the country has regained its competitiveness. The banking sector's risks are declining too. Fitch also notes that Estonia's economy is no longer boosted by inflows of foreign loan capital, a key difference from the pre-crisis growth model, which increases confidence that the country's robust growth will not generate macroeconomic imbalances.

"Fitch rightly points out that euro area membership and sound public finances - two goals for which Estonia strived hard - are Estonia's key rating strengths," says Marten Ross, Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank.

Ross also states that the ongoing debt problems in some euro area countries point to the need to hold reserves and that it is important for Estonia to achieve a budget surplus in 2013, as targeted in the country's state budget strategy.

The last time Fitch upgraded Estonia's sovereign rating was in July 2010, when raising it by two notches to A stable. Moody's gave its last rating to Estonia in March 2010 at A1 stable. Standard & Poor's last rated Estonia in April 2011, when affirming the rating at level A and raising the rating outlook to positive from stable.