TUESDAY, 11.30AM
THE United States trade surplus with SA, which hit record levels last year despite the rand’s crash, fell in the first quarter this year largely due to a 10% decline in the value of US imports to SA.
The first quarter tarde surplus decreased 28% from $299-million to $217-million. At the same time as US imports to SA fell 10%, SA exports to the US only rose by about 1%, from $493 to $497.
The biggest contributor to the fall in SA purchases from the US was the tariff category covering heavy industrial machinery and electrical equipment, which showed respective quarter-on-quarter declines of 15% and 13%.
Growth od DSA exports to the US was hampered by a 15% decline in the value of US purchases precious metals diamonds and gold, with sales falling from $206-million to $176-million. SA iron and steel sales to the US were unchanged at $66-million, while US imports of SA chemicals nearly doubled to $38-million.
Total SA exports to the US last year totalled $2,3-billion, while US exports to SA were valued at $3,1-billion.