Dakar: Senegal on Saturday criticised Moody's downgrade of its credit rating as "subjective and biased", as it strives to secure new aid from an IMF-supported programme.

Ratings agency Moody's on Friday lowered its evaluation of Senegal's longterm debt to Caa1, from B3 previously, with a negative outlook suggesting a further downgrade could occur within months.

The west African nation is struggling to right its finances as it grapples with public debt amounting to 119 percent of its GDP and a budget deficit of 14 percent.

The International Monetary Fund a year ago suspended a $1.8-billion credit line to the country after revelations of distorted figures and fiscal mismanagement.

The country's government, which blames the suspect economic data on former president Macky Sall, is to hold formal negotiations with the IMF over the coming week to request new aid.

Reacting to the downgrade, Senegal's finance ministry said in a statement that Moody's evaluation "does not reflect the reality of the country's economic fundamentals, nor public policy measures in place to consolidate budget stability and reinforce debt sustainability".

It called on the ratings agency to show "more rigour, objectivity and responsibility".

The Moody's downgrade of Senegal's rating was the second by the agency this year.

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