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Mineral Products Fuel Oct Trade Deficit

SOUTH AFRICA
MNI (London)

SOUTH AFRICA OCT TRADE BALANCE RAND -4.3B (FCST 14.7B); SEP 26.2Br

  • South Africa recorded a R4.3bln trade deficit in October, a substantial miss from the R14.7bln surplus expected by the Bloomberg consensus. In October, exports fell by 17.0% on the month, whilst imports decreased by a marginal 1.3% m/m.
  • This brings the year-to-date surface to R181.3bln, which is below half that of the Jan to Oct 2021 surplus.
  • A marked fall in mineral exports alongside a jump in imports accounted for the bulk of the weakening trade balance. Overall exports were weaker across all top 5 export categories.
  • Both significant production issues due to load-shedding and weak global demand are proving to be exerting considerable downward pressure on South African trade.
  • Exports to Asia and Europe fell by 29.5%m/m and 20.2% m/m alone and a weaker-than-expected October industrial production print is likely.

Source: South African Revenue Service

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