Moody's leaves South Africa teetering on brink of 'junk'

The city of Johannesburg over looks the Mandela bridge, with trains parked underneath, South Africa, November 15, 2018. [REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko]

Moody’s has left South Africa on the brink of “junk” status after it revised the outlook on the country’s last investment-grade credit rating to “negative,” last week, piling pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa to quicken the pace of reform.

Moody’s said the outlook revision on its ‘Baa3’ rating, the lowest rung of investment grade, was motivated by deterioration in the economic growth outlook and rising debt.