Petróleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras announced March 8 that ratings agency Fitch Ratings raised its stand-alone credit profile, or SCP, to BB+ from BB-.

The ratings agency also affirmed the long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings at BB- with a stable outlook.

The hike was due to the robust cash generation and reduction of debt, which has seen capital structure improvement over the past years.

The new SCP exceeds the company's rating on a global scale following the Government of Brazil's rating.