South Africa’s current-account deficit has narrowed, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its Quarterly Bulletin for March 2010, released on Tuesday.
The deficit on the current account of the balance of payments narrowed steadily from 6,7% of gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2009 to 2,8% in the fourth quarter.
On a calendar-year basis, the deficit on the current account relative to South Africa’s gross domestic product narrowed from 7,1% in 2008 to 4% in 2009.
The SARB said the narrowing of the current account deficit in 2009 could mainly be attributed to an increase in international trade volumes and a concomitant stronger rise in the value of merchandise goods exported from South Africa.
South Africa’s trade surplus with the rest of the world consequently widened from R22,3-billion in the third quarter of 2009 to R24,9-billion in the fourth quarter.
For the year as a whole, the trade balance changed from a deficit of R35,6-billion recorded in 2008 to a surplus of R2,3-billion in 2009. — Sapa