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South Africa Current Account Deficit Narrows as Imports Slip
South Africa’s current account deficit shrank by much more than expected in the third quarter, reflecting lower import volumes amid weaker demand and logistics bottlenecks. The deficit on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, shrank to an annualized 0.3% of gross domestic product, or 19.3 billion rand ($1 billion), from a revised 2.7% of GDP in the prior quarter, the South African Reserve Bank said in a statement Thursday. The consensus of nine economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a deficit of 1% of GDP. South Africa has now posted a current-account shortfall for a sixth ... (full story)