OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2015.  Fitch Ratings has published a new report on the 2016 Outlook for the Latin American Metals and Mining sector.

Fitch expects rating downgrades for the metals and mining industry in Latin America to be driven by pressured cash flow generation and sustained high leverage as commodity prices remain close to, or below, marginal cost, mainly due to oversupply. Event-driven downgrades may also occur, such as in relation to sovereign rating downgrades, in turn partly driven by lower government revenues from the global commodity slump, and/or imposition of hefty environmental fines and penalties.

Low-cost players in the region that exhibit strong capital structures and manageable capex are well-placed to emerge from the downturn with stronger earnings and cash flows.