By James Bryce

ANDALUCIA is one of five regions in Spain to have had their solvency rating reduced by ratings agency Fitch.

The regional government has dropped from AA- to A+ status as a result of its ongoing financial woes, which has resulted in a failure to meet deficit targets.

The Canaries, Catalunia, Valencia and Murcia also suffered drops, which could lead to Spain losing its current AA+ status.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed its concern at Spain’s financial situation at a time of ongoing crisis throughout the Eurozone.

The IMF’s southern Europe representative, Arrigo Sadun, said: “Spain and Italy are doing much to deal with their public finances and their debt problems, but to avoid the contagion in the crisis they also need external support.”

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