Mozambique Overtakes Senegal as Africa’s Riskiest Sovereign

Mozambique bonds have overtaken Senegal as Africa’s most distressed sovereign debt, as the war in Iran puts fresh strain on the country’s fragile finances.

The country’s sovereign yield spread, the extra premium that investors demand to hold its hard currency debt over Treasuries, rose to 1,473 basis points on Friday, according to data from a JPMorgan Chase & Co index. That’s above Senegal’s 1,423 points spread, the first time this has happened since November. Spreads wider than 1,000 basis points denotes distress.