- Moody's Investors Service , the bond credit rating business
Moody's has lowered the European Union's long-term issuer rating outlook from stable to negative, warning it might downgrade credit rating again if the EU decides to cut the ratings on its four biggest budget backers: Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands.
"The negative outlook on the EU's long-term ratings reflects the negative outlook on the Aaa ratings of the member states with large contributions to the EU budget: Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands, which together account for around 45% of the EU's budget revenue," the ratings agency said.
"It is reasonable to assume that the EU's creditworthiness should move in line with the creditworthiness of its strongest key member states."
Also Tuesday, Eurostat said producer price inflation in the Eurozone rose more than expected in July. Nation's producer price index rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, after falling 0.5% in the preceding month.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.13 per cent to 265.43. Germany's DAX Index lost 1.17 per cent to 6,932.58 and France's CAC 40 Index erased 1.58 per cent to 3,399.04.
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