Market Commentary | The week that was

On Friday, 1 April, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded South Africa’s Sovereign credit rating to “stable” from the previous “negative”. The more positive outlook can be attributed to the fact that South Africa has benefitted from high commodity prices, supporting government’s efforts to reign in debt. The improved fiscal outlook supports government’s debt burden to stabilise over the medium term, Moody’s said in a statement on Friday.

The good news is that the downward trend in Moody’s rating of South Africa - which started a decade ago - may have reached a crucial turning point.

On a duller note, the latest report (29 March 2022) released from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) shows that the country’s unemployment rate has risen to a new record of 35.3% in Q4 2021. The unemployment rate among the SA youth remains at an overwhelming 65.5%.

Looking at the week ahead, relatively muted on data releases; PMI Manufacturing on 5 April. Elsewhere, focus remains on news updates out of Russia and Ukraine.