Nhlanhla Nene and Moody’s hold fate of rand in their hands

A positive statement from Nene could push the rand to about R13.75 per dollar, from about R14.22 on Friday, he said.

Moody’s rates SA’s local-currency debt at Baa3, the lowest investment level. The ratings company’s stable outlook on the debt means there is little chance of a change in the assessment soon, though it said in September that SA had to stabilise its debt to prevent a change to negative.

Disappointing Moody’s would prove costly. Foreign investors own almost 40% of SA’s R1.97-trillion worth of local-currency bonds. Should the country lose its investment rating, it would be excluded from Citigroup’s world government bond index (WGBI), sparking outflows of about $5bn as investors who track the gauge are forced to sell, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“The bar for Moody’s to act remains high but WGBI exclusion is a long-term risk,” Gabriele Foa, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a note dated September 26. “Rough maths suggests that while it is not an immediate risk, the long-term risks from potential investment grade losses remain elevated.”

Moody’s was scheduled to review SA’s credit rating on October 12, but said in September that it may delay until after the budget statement on October 24. For now, traders aren’t overly concerned, if options pricing is anything to go by. The premium of options to sell the currency over those to buy it in the next month, known as the 25 Delta risk reversal, dropped 38 basis points on Friday to three percentage points, the lowest in almost two months.

Bloomberg