South African current account deficit at 9-year low
South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to a nine-year low in the fourth quarter as outflows decreased.
The shortfall on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, shrank to 1.3% of gross domestic product from 3.7% in the previous period, the South African Reserve Bank said in a report released Thursday in Pretoria.
That’s the smallest gap since the final three months of 2010. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a deficit of 3%.
The narrower-than-expected gap was mainly driven by an improvement in the shortfall on South Africa’s primary income account, which reflects outflows due to dividends and interest payments to foreign shareholders, and a decline in imports partly because of weak economic activity.
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