Venezuela has 'defaulted on its debt' – S&P

Last updated: November 14, 2017 at 10:08 am

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's says Venezuela has defaulted on its debt after it failed to make payments due on some of its bonds.

The agency said earlier this morning that Venezuela had failed to make US$200 million in coupon payments for bonds due 2019 and 2024 within the allowed 30-day grace period.

S&P is the first rating agency to announce the country is in default.

According to the Finanical Times, a meeting in the capital Caracas left investors with little hope of how a default on the $60bn debt pile could be avoided.

It also said it was downgrading Venezuela's sovereign debt grade to SD – short for "selective default," which means the country decided to skip a payment on a specific bond but is overall still committed to honouring its international debts.

Previously it had Venezuela in junk bond status.

The agency says "there is a one-in-two chance that Venezuela could default again within the next three months."