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April Trade Balance Almost 5Bln Below Expectations

SOUTH AFRICA
MNI (London)

APRIL TRADE BALANCE RAND 15.5B (FCST 20.2B)

MARCH REVISED UP TO 47.2B

  • The South Africa trade surplus shrunk to R 15.49bln in the preliminary April print, coming in approx. R 4.7bln below the consensus forecast.
  • This brings the year-to-date surplus to R 79.43bln, a substantial drop from R 148.03bln seen in the Jan-April period last year.
  • Exports fell by 4.4% y/y in April, whilst imports jumped 24.1% y/y. Chemical product imports alone rose 13% m/m as commodity prices increased.
  • This trade data underscores economic difficulties faced by South Africa currently, as power outages and softened growth outlooks remain subdued with the SARB looking for 1.7% growth in 2022.

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