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Pretoria - The deficit on South Africa’s current account
widened to 3.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, partly due to
large dividend payments to foreign investors.
In its December Quarterly Bulletin, the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday said the current account gap rose from a revised 2.9% gap in the second quarter. It was at its highest since the first quarter of 2010 when it hit a deficit of 4.0% of GDP.
The deficit on the income and current transfer account
widened to R132.7bn compared with R110.4bn in the second quarter.
“The magnitude of gross dividend allotments... reflected
the relatively high international commodity prices which continued to support
company profits,” the Reserve Bank said.
The trade account surplus narrowed to R18.1bn from R26.8bn
due to the “uneven economic recovery in some of the main trading partner
countries”.
The bank said firm demand from Asia and Africa offset the
impact of widespread moderation in economic activity in Europe. As a result,
export volumes rose slightly by 1.0%.
Import volumes rose by 4.6%, “buoyed by firm consumer demand and increased spending on capital equipment”.
