Mubasher: Moody's trailing 12-month global speculative-grade default rate rose to 4.7% in July from 4.6% in June, according to the latest default report.
The rating agency expected the default rate to hit 5.1% this November, before falling to 3.9% in July 2017.
A total of eleven Moody's-rated companies defaulted last month, bringing the default tally to 102 up to date this year.
Seven oil and gas companies defaulted in July, the report highlighted, adding that around 49 of the 62 commodities companies defaulted so far this year have come from the oil and gas sector and 13 from metals and mining.
Defaults have been concentrated in North America so far in 2016, where 80 Moody's-rated issuers have defaulted, compared with 10 from Europe and the remaining 12 from Asia, Latin America and Africa.
“The trailing 12-month US speculative-grade default rate finished July at 5.5%, up from 5.2% in June. In Europe, the comparable rate edged up to 2.6% from 2.5%. At this time last year, the US and European rates stood at 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively,” the report highlighted.
