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SA’s trade surplus of R2.66bn for 2018 so far is still significantly lower than the R39.93bn surplus recorded for the same period last year, despite a marked improvement for August this year.
SARS on Friday released the latest trade statistics for August 2018 where the surplus for August was up 29% compared to the surplus recorded last year. This year, August recorded R8.79bn compared to last year's R6.80bn.
“Exports of R116.88bn are 12.2% more than the exports recorded in August 2017 of R104.16bn. Imports of R108.09bn are 11% more than the imports recorded in August 2017 of R97.37bn,” the report read.
But SARS noted that the year-to-date figures (between January 1, 2018 and August 31, 2018) shows a “deterioration” in the trade surplus than that recorded for the same period last year. For the year-to-date, exports have increased by 5%, while imports have surged 10.4%.
The rand held steady on the release of the statistics, trading at R14.18/$ at 14:00 before moving to R14.19/$ at 14:30.
Senior dealer at TreasuryONE Andre Botha had warned in a market update earlier on Friday that if figures surprised on the “negative side” it would lead to rand weakness.
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