SA's current account deficit widened in the
first quarter of 2016, to 5% of gross domestic product (R211bn) from
4.6% (R191bn) in the fourth quarter of 2015, Reserve Bank data showed on
Tuesday.
Economists including Investec had expected the deficit to narrow from the previously reported fourth-quarter figure of 5.1%, with Investec putting the first-quarter figure at 4.8%.
The shortfall widened mainly because SA paid more dividends to foreign investors for their investments in the country than it received for its investments abroad. The shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account widened by R24bn to R174bn.
"Gross dividend receipts from abroad have shrunk almost unabatedly since their most recent peak in the first quarter of 2015, while gross dividend payments to nonresident investors rose notably in the first quarter of 2016," the Bank said in its quarterly bulletin.
The widening in the current account deficit was offset by an improvement in the trade balance.
The trade deficit narrowed to R38bn in the first quarter of 2016 from R41bn in the fourth quarter of 2015, as higher international prices of certain commodities such as platinum, coal and iron ore, and a weaker rand supported an increase in the value of exports.
The value of imports advanced at a slower pace over the period, which helped support the narrowing of the trade deficit.
Economists including Investec had expected the deficit to narrow from the previously reported fourth-quarter figure of 5.1%, with Investec putting the first-quarter figure at 4.8%.
The shortfall widened mainly because SA paid more dividends to foreign investors for their investments in the country than it received for its investments abroad. The shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account widened by R24bn to R174bn.
"Gross dividend receipts from abroad have shrunk almost unabatedly since their most recent peak in the first quarter of 2015, while gross dividend payments to nonresident investors rose notably in the first quarter of 2016," the Bank said in its quarterly bulletin.
The widening in the current account deficit was offset by an improvement in the trade balance.
The trade deficit narrowed to R38bn in the first quarter of 2016 from R41bn in the fourth quarter of 2015, as higher international prices of certain commodities such as platinum, coal and iron ore, and a weaker rand supported an increase in the value of exports.
The value of imports advanced at a slower pace over the period, which helped support the narrowing of the trade deficit.
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