Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will this week outline improvements in South Africa’s public finances that pave the way for a sovereign credit-rating outlook upgrade, a Bloomberg survey shows.

Six of the nine economists canvassed — including those at Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley — expect Fitch Ratings to revise its outlook to positive at its next review. Four predict a similar move by Moody’s Ratings.

Standard Chartered Plc, which responded after the survey closed, expects both Fitch and Moody’s to shift to a positive outlook.

An outlook change is long overdue, after S&P Global Ratings in November upgraded the country’s credit rating to BB — two steps below investment grade — with a positive outlook, Razia Khan, Standard Chartered’s chief economist for Africa and the Middle East, said.

When Godongwana delivers his budget in Cape Town, he’s expected to announce that the National Treasury will beat its consolidated fiscal deficit forecast of 4.7% of gross domestic product for 2025–26, with economists projecting a shortfall of 4.4%.

Source: Business tech