For the first time in nearly a year, Guatemala entered the global markets, seeking to capitalize on recent credit-rating upgrades. The nation priced USD 1 bln in notes due in 2036 with a yield of 6.6%. S&P and Fitch recently upgraded Guatemala’s score to BB, two levels below investment grade, while Moody’s rated the nation at Ba1, with a stable outlook. Guatemala has joined a limited group of Latin American countries issuing bonds this year as major central banks maintain high borrowing costs. Before its recent deal, Latin American countries have only sold USD 15 bln of hard-currency debt in 2023, the lowest amount for the same period of any year since 2012, as per data compiled by Bloomberg.