Speculative-grade ratings continue to benefit from stabilizing credit-market conditions and a healthy U.S. economic backdrop. Since May 2022, corporate speculative-grade downgrades have outpaced upgrades;, however, in April, there were more upgrades than downgrades, with the media, entertainment, and leisure and consumer products sectors experiencing the most upgrades. The number of issuers downgraded into the ‘CCC+’ and below rating category continued to outpace the number of issuers upgraded out of the category (see chart 2), as since credit measures remain weak for lower-rated issuers.