Browsing: S&P Global Ratings

• South Africa inflation has fallen to a more than four-year low.
• South Africa’s economy has experienced a thrill of positivity since the Government of National Unity (GNU.
• S&P Global Ratings endorsed the positivity by raising the view of the nation to positive from stable.

South Africa’s inflation has fallen to a more than four-year low, signaling another reduction in borrowing rates by the monetary policy committee on Thursday.

Consumer prices surged 2.8 per cent in October from a year earlier, compared with 3.8 per cent in the preceding month, according to Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa through a statement on their website.

The decline below the lower end of the central bank’s 3 per cent to 6 per cent target range will likely influence the monetary policy committee to ease the monetary policy benchmark for the second time in as many months. The widespread expectation is for the MPC to …

• Global ratings agency S&P downgrades Kenya from “B” to “B-” on weaker debt trajectory.
• S&P says Kenya’s financial outlook has deteriorated following the rejection of Finance Bill 2024, which was intended to raise tax revenues.
• Agency projects that Kenya’s budget deficit will widen by almost two percentage points, reaching 4.3% for the 2025 fiscal year.

S&P Global Ratings has further downgraded Kenya’s credit score, pushing the East African nation’s rating deeper into junk territory. This downgrade follows the government’s decision to reject controversial tax increases in late June that were aimed at addressing fiscal imbalances.

The latest move by S&P places East Africa’s biggest economy’s rating on par with countries such as Egypt and El Salvador.

The rejection of the 2024/2025 Finance Bill, which was expected to introduce several tax increases, has been a pivotal moment for Kenya’s economic trajectory. The bill included tax hikes on essential items such as …