Moody’s global speculative-grade default rate slides to 2.3% in August

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Sept. 16 – Moody’s Investors Service’s trailing-12-month global speculative-grade default rate finished at 2.3% in August, down from 2.4% in July, according to a report released Wednesday.

Moody’s said the latest reading came in slightly lower than its year-ago prediction of 2.6%.

“Oil and gas continues to be the most challenged industry so far this year, owing to the bankruptcy filing of Hercules Offshore Inc. and the distressed exchange by SandRidge Energy Inc.,” Moody’s Albert Metz said in the release.

Among U.S. speculative-grade issuers, Moody’s said the default rate remained unchanged at 2.3% from July to August. In Europe, the comparable rate fell to 1.4% from 2.0%.

The ratings agency said it now predicts that the global default rate will end 2015 at 2.7%, well below the historical average of 4.5%.

Moody's Investors Service is a provider of credit ratings, research and risk analysis.

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