South Africa’s current account deficit unexpectedly narrowed in the third quarter of 2025, reflecting an improvement in the country’s terms of trade, Bloomberg reported on Thursday (4).
According to the report, the current account deficit—the broadest measure of trade in goods and services—fell to 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to 3.3 billion dollars, for the three months ending in September, compared with a revised 1% in the previous quarter, data released by the country’s central bank showed on Thursday. The latest figure exceeded the median estimate of 1.2% from a Bloomberg survey of four economists.
South Africa’s terms of trade, including gold, improved slightly in the third quarter, while terms excluding gold improved at a faster pace, as the rand value of exported goods and services increased more than that of incoming shipments, according to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
“The reduction in the current account deficit was mainly due to a smaller deficit in the services, income, and current transfers accounts,” the SARB said.
The country’s trade surplus fell to 10.4 billion dollars in the third quarter from 10.9 billion dollars in the previous quarter, as import values rose faster than exports. The SARB cited increases in imports of refined petroleum products and crude oil as the main factor driving higher import values for mineral products.
The deficit in the services, income, and current transfers accounts declined from 15.2 billion dollars to 13.8 billion dollars, as the country posted a smaller deficit in its primary income account.
As a percentage of GDP, the deficit in the services, income, and current transfers accounts fell from 3.4% to 3%.
South Africa has now recorded eight consecutive current account deficits—the longest stretch since 2019, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
