Current account deficit widens

"With South Africa's terms of trade also registering a modest further deterioration, the deficit on the current account of the balance of payments widened to 6.4% of gross domestic product, the highest deficit ratio since the third quarter of 2008," said the Reserve Bank in its September Quarterly Bulletin released on Tuesday, 11 September 2012.

Analysts had expected the deficit to have remained unchanged at 4.9% of GDP in the second quarter.

"In South Africa, the moderation in export earnings coincided with a further increase in the value of merchandise imports, resulting in the deficit on the trade account of the balance of payments increasing significantly from R42 billion in the first quarter of 2012 to R75.7 billion in the second quarter.

"The deficit on the current account of the balance of payments rose from 4.9% of gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2012 to 6.4% in the second quarter. The larger imbalance reflected the simultaneous deterioration in the trade and services accounts over the period," read the report.