Moody's has downgraded South Africa's credit rating to junk status, piling more anguish on an economy already in recession and battered by Africa's worst coronavirus outbreak.
Moody's move "could not have come at a worse time", the South African government said, as it would "further add to the prevailing financial market stress". The downgrade late on Friday came as South Africa began a three-week nationwide lockdown to try to halt the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 1,100 people in the country.
"The key driver behind the rating downgrade to Ba1 is the continuing deterioration in fiscal strength and structurally very weak growth," Moody's said.