Middle Eastern oil producers including Saudi Arabia and Oman had their ratings downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service because of a collapse in oil prices, according to a statement from the credit-ratings agency on Saturday. The long-term issuer rating on Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, was downgraded to A1 from Aa3 as lower oil prices may lead to a “material deterioration” in the nation’s credit profile. Bahrain’s rating was reduced to Ba2 from Ba1 and Oman was cut to Baa1 from A3, while the outlook for crude exporters including Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Kuwait were negative. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is almost 40 percent lower than in November 2014, when Saudi Arabia led a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep pumping to defend market share in the face of swelling global inventories. While demand from emerging nations such as India was spotted in […]