Fitch affirms Noble's liquidity position

Singapore

FITCH Ratings on Friday affirmed Noble Group's position that it has enough liquidity to meet its debt commitments within the next 12 months, but warned that any weakening in the commodity trader's position could result in negative rating actions.

Noble has the cash to repay the US$458 million senior notes maturing in the next half a year, Fitch said, while also noting that Noble's US$2.5 billion short-term bank debt at the end of the third quarter remains at an "elevated level" as it tries to reduce finance costs by switching from capital financing to bank debt financing.