New York
Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s lowered their assessments of South Africa’s financial strength on Friday, saying pandemic had further stifled the heavily indebted country’s economy. The agencies, which had already placed South Africa’s debt in the category of speculative investments, both downgraded their ratings one notch, to “BB-” at Fitch and “Ba2” at Moody’s, and warned that they could lower them again in the medium term. Fitch said its decision reflects the country’s “high and rising government debt, exacerbated by the economic shock triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.—Agencies
