New Zealand's sovereign ratings were under threat on Wednesday after Fitch, one of the big three ratings agencies, placed the country on negative watch.

Fitch affirmed New Zealand's long-term foreign-currency rating at AA+, its long-term local-currency rating at triple A and its short-term foreign-currency rating at F1+, but said it had revised the outlook on ratings from negative to stable.

The rating agency said the revision reflected concern about the medium-term growth outlook given the