Economics
South Africa Rating Cut to One Level Above Junk by Fitch
- Country's sovereign credit rating lowered one step to BBB-
- Economy forecast to grow at slowest pace since 2009 recession
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South Africa’s credit rating was cut one level to BBB- by Fitch Ratings Ltd. as economic growth slows, bringing the country closer to a junk rating and in line with the assessment of Standard & Poor’s.
The foreign-currency rating was reduced from BBB to the lowest investment grade, the company said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. The outlook on the rating was changed to stable from negative. Standard & Poor’s changed the outlook on its BBB- rating to negative from stable earlier in the day. Fitch’s second downgrade for South Africa in three years puts its evaluation on a par with India and Turkey.