South Africa Current Account Gap Balloons in Q4

South Africa's current account deficit rose sharply to ZAR 165.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, from an upwardly revised ZAR 34.4 billion in the prior period and worse than market forecasts of a ZAR 92 billion shortfall.

The trade surplus narrowed to ZAR 88.1 billion in Q4 from ZAR 181.1 billion in Q3, with imports growing faster than exports.

As a ratio of GDP, the current account balance gap widened to 2.3% in Q4 from a revised 0.5% in Q3.

On an annual basis, the deficit on the current account widened to ZAR 112.5 billion (1.6% of GDP) in 2023 from ZAR 30.0 billion (0.5% of GDP) in 2022.