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Johannnesburg - The current account deficit stood at nine percent of GDP for the first quarter of the year - the broadest in 26 years, the SA Reserve Bank's June Quarterly Bulletin said on Thursday.
"The deficit on the current account of the country's balance of
payments widened from R157.7bn in the fourth quarter of 2007 to
R194.6bn in the first quarter of 2008," the bank said.
Relative to gross domestic product, the current account weakened
from 7.5% to 9.0% over the period.
While most analysts predicted the current account deficit to come in at around 8.4% of GDP, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni warned last week that the deficit may have grown to around nine percent of GDP.
The central bank said the further deterioration in the current
account deficit was mainly due to continued strong import demand, which coincided with relatively weak growth of merchandise exports.
The international demand for SA's mining products remained
strong but export volumes were lower, "adversely affected by a decline in domestic production," the bank said.
The mining sector was badly affected and mining output dropped
"following the introduction of power shedding measures, the temporary closure of certain mine shafts due to safety audits after accidents and the slow resumption of operations following the festive and Easter holidays."
- Sapa