South Africa’s trade balance recorded a surprise surplus for September 2010.
In a statement on Friday, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said a trade surplus of R3,6-billion had been recorded, compared with a deficit of R4,7-billion in August.
The market had been expecting a deficit of R2,1-billion in September.
“The R3,6-billion surplus for September 2010 was due to an increase in exports of 9,6% and a decrease in imports of 6,9%.
Exports of R53,16-billion for September 2010 and imports of R49,54-billion resulted in the surplus of R3,62-billion.
“The rise in exports is encouraging, but the strong trend is unlikely to be maintained against the backdrop of a faltering global economy,” Nedbank Group’s economic unit said.
Imports, on the other hand, were likely to benefit from improving consumer incomes, low interest rates and a strong rand in the coming months.
“These figures have little implications for monetary policy and we still expect the Reserve Bank to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting in November before easing in the new year,” Nedbank said. — Sapa