SA trade deficit widens to its biggest in 10 months

South Africa’s trade deficit widened to R5.55bn in October, up from a revised R3.83bn recorded in September, official data released by SARS on Friday showed.

The increase was the biggest in 10 months and the deficit was attributed to exports of R122.32bn and imports of R127.87.

The South African Receiver of Revenue (SARS) said exports year-to-date increased by 6.6% whilst imports for the same period showed an increase of 13.3%.

Exports increased by R9.53bn from September 2018 to October 2018 and imports increased by R11.26bn from September 2018 to October 2018. 

The statistics include trade data with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia, and income from these countries recorded a trade deficit of R12.96bn.

The figures come on the back of consumer confidence, which  fell from +22 in the second quarter to +7 in the third quarter of the year.

September’s surplus was revised up to R3.83bn from R2.95bn.

"Looking forward, an elevation in trade tensions could further dampen global trade activity and while import growth will likely be restricted by the moderation in the international oil price and restrained rates of domestic consumption, we could see the trade account recording a deficit position for the next few months," Investec economist Lara Hodes said of the trade figures.

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