Economics
South Africa Eludes Third Junk Rating as Markets Beg to Differ
- Moody’s keeps South Africa at lowest investment-grade score
- Markets had largely priced in downgrade to junk territory
Photographer: Dean Hutton/Bloomberg
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South Africa dodged its third junk rating late Friday -- something markets had been counting on for months -- as Moody’s Investors Service maintained the nation’s lowest investment grade score.
Investors and analysts had been expecting Moody’s to join S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings in dropping the nation’s debt to non-investment grade. The move would have been “a long time coming” as South African data suggested a deteriorating rating for some time, Peter Kinsella, global head of FX strategy for Union Bancaire Privee, said on Bloomberg TV in London.