South Africa's rand plunged to an all-time low after ratings firm Moody's cut the country's last investment grade credit rating to ‘junk,’ adding to mounting panic about the coronavirus outbreak
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s rand plunged to an all-time low on Monday, falling below 18.00 to a dollar after ratings firm Moody’s cut the country’s last investment grade credit rating to “junk”, adding to mounting panic about the coronavirus outbreak.
Moody’s downgrade will see South Africa kicked out of the benchmark World Government Bond Index of local-currency debt at the end of April, triggering up to $12 billion of forced selling, treasury and analysts estimate. The central bank’s decision to a launch a “quantitative easing” style bond-buying program, alongside easier repo terms for commercial banks, was also set to support demand for government bonds and limit a sharp spike in the curve.
FILE PHOTO: South African Rand coins are seen in this photo illustration taken September 9, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Coronavirus Response In Middle East, Africa, Latin AmericaCountries all over the world are being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. We hear how nations in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are responding.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Soccer cuts, S. Africa, China cars(Reuters Breakingviews) - Breakingviews has launched a daily column covering pandemic-related insights that you might have missed. Throughout the day, we’ll bring you shorter-than-usual views from columnists around the world with the same financial savvy on companies, economies and capital markets during this important unfolding story.
Read more »
Forty seven-nation Africa has 2,650 confirmed coronavirus cases, 49 deaths - WHO chief TedrosCoronavirus has now spread to dozens of the 47 countries of the WHO Africa region, with 2,650 infected and 49 dead, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.
Read more »
Africa is changing so rapidly, it is becoming hard to ignoreAlthough many of the continent’s problems persist, social, economic and political improvements since the end of the cold war are gathering pace
Read more »
Corona Capital: Soccer cuts, S. Africa, China carsConcise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: European soccer stars suffer a salary relegation, South Africa’s finance minister talks straight about a credit downgrade, and Chinese carmakers rev up their sales pitches.
Read more »