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Even as some foreign leaders supported Portuguese efforts to stick to their own plan for clearing the country's crippling debts, financial pressures mounted Tuesday as Standard & Poor's downgraded its credit rating of Portugal's bonds to just one notch above junk status.
That cut — the rating agency's second in six days — will make it even harder for Portugal, one of the 17-nation eurozone's smallest and weakest economies, to raise money on international markets, where nervous investors view the country as a very risky bet.
Standard & Poors also downgraded Greece's credit rating again Tuesday, saying it was "highly likely" the country would need to take further bailout loans beyond the ones it already has.
S&P's downgrade to BB- from BB+ puts Greece's rating deeper into junk status. The agency said the country's borrowing needs are such that it will likely need more help on top of the $155 billion in loans it is receiving from the International Monetary Fund and fellow eurozone countries.
Greece, which was rescued from the brink of default last year by the three-year bailout package, rejected the assertion, with the Finance Ministry saying the country was on track to return to borrowing on the international market by 2012. Government officials have previously said they hoped to be able to borrow on the market within 2011.
In return for the bailout funds, Greece has been overhauling its economy and implementing strict austerity measures, including public sector salary cuts and increased taxes.
But it remains for now essentially blocked out of the long-term debt market by prohibitively high interest rates demanded for its bonds, and the country has been struggling to meet revenue targets.
In Portugal, Standard & Poor's said it lowered its sovereign credit ratings to BBB-/A-3 from BBB/A-2 and said Portugal's high debt load and poor growth prospects make it likely the ailing country will need a financial rescue.
Analysts estimate Portugal would need a bailout of up to $113 billion.
Portugal has so far defied calls from other European countries to accept help, even as its financial woes have deepened after last week's resignation of the government.
Portugal's plight could further unsettle investors worried about the eurozone's overall financial health.