South Africa’s trade deficit widened to the largest since at least 2010 in January as gold and platinum exports fell and oil imports increased.

The trade gap of 24.2 billion rand ($2.1 billion) compared with a revised surplus of 6.7 billion rand in December, the Pretoria-based Revenue Service said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. The median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a deficit of 7.8 billion rand.

The volume of oil imports rose 64 percent in January as the price dropped to an almost six-year low and importers such as Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. stepped up their purchases. The utility is burning increased amounts of diesel as it struggles to meet demand in the continent’s most industrialized economy.

“The impact of sharply lower global commodity prices is being reflected in the data,” Manisha Morar, an economist at ETM Analytics, said by phone from Johannesburg on Friday. Subdued global demand and domestic electricity shortages “are likely to offset the potential benefit of lower oil prices on the import bill.”

A widening trade deficit has added to pressure on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, and the rand. The current-account gap probably averaged 5.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2014 and will narrow to 4.5 percent this year, according to the National Treasury.

Rand Weakens

The rand weakened 0.8 percent to 11.6289 per dollar as of 2:36 p.m. in Johannesburg, bringing its decline since the start of last year to 9.8 percent. Yields on government rand bonds due December 2026 rose eight basis points to 7.65 percent.

Large external deficits “in the form of the current-account and trade balance will ensure that a level of vulnerability remains entrenched in the rand,” Morar said.

Exports dropped by 23.1 percent to 67.1 billion rand in January as shipments of precious metals and stones fell by 5.2 billion rand, or 35 percent. Exports of mineral products, which include coal and iron ore, declined by 4.4 billion rand, or 19 percent. Vehicle and transport equipment shipments were 2.4 billion rand, or 27 percent, lower.

Imports rose by 13.3 percent to 91.3 billion rand as purchases of machinery and electronics increased by 2 billion rand, or 10.2 percent. Purchases of equipment components rose 1.9 billion rand, or 45 percent, and mineral products, which include oil, were 1.1 billion rand, or 6.2 percent, higher.

The monthly trade figures are often volatile, reflecting the timing of shipments of commodities such as oil and diamonds.

The revenue service revised its data in November 2013 to include trade with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.

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SA Trade Statistics for January 2015 (SARS): Highlights

The R24.22 billion deficit for January 2015 is due to exports of R67.08 billion and imports of R91.30 billion. Exports decreased from December 2014 to January 2015 by R20.19 billion (23.1%) and imports increased from December 2014 to January 2015 by R10.70 billion (13.3%).

The trade data excluding BLNS for January 2015 recorded a trade deficit of R31.33 billion. This is a result of exports of R57.72 billion and imports of R89.04 billion. Exports decreased from December 2014 to January 2015 by R19.81 billion (25.5%) and imports increased from December 2014 to January 2015 by R10.67 billion (13.6%).

Trade statistics with the BLNS for January 2015 recorded a trade surplus of R7.11 billion. This is a result of exports of R9.36 billion and imports of R2.25 billion. Exports decreased from December 2014 to January 2015 by R0.38 billion (3.9%) and imports increased from December to January by R0.02 billion (0.9%).

 

Trade highlights by category

The month-on-month export movements:

R’ million
Section:	Including BLNS:
Precious Metals & Stones	- R5 228	- 35.4%
Mineral Products	- R4 401	- 19.4%
Vehicle & Transport Equipment	- R2 349	- 27.3%
Machinery & Electronics	- R2 090	- 25.0%
Base Metals	- R1 462	- 13.5%

The month-on-month import movements:

R’ million
Section:	Including BLNS:
Machinery & Electronics	+ R2 005	+ 10.2%
Equipment Components	+ R1 896	+ 44.7%
Base Metals	+ R1 523	+ 40.6%
Vehicle & Transport Equipment	+ R1 288	+ 14.8%
Mineral Products	+ R1 093	+ 6.2%

 

Trade highlights by world zone

The world zone results for January 2015 are given below.

Africa:

Exports: R20 018 million – this is a decrease of R3 614 million from December 2014
Imports: R12 029 million – this is an increase of R1 978 million from December 2014
Trade surplus: R7 989 million.
This is a 41.2% decrease in comparison to the R13 581 million surplus recorded in December 2014. 

America:

Exports: R6 594 million – this is a decrease of R2 527 million from December 2014
Imports: R9 831 million – this is an increase of R1 521 million from December 2014
Trade deficit: R3 237 million
This is a comparison to the R 811 million surplus recorded in December 2014

Asia:

Exports: R20 236 million – this is a decrease of R8 146 million from December 2014
Imports:  R41 439 million – this is an increase of R4 026 million from December 2014
Trade deficit: R21 203 million 
This is a 134.8% increase in comparison to the R9 031 million deficit recorded in December 2014

Europe:

Exports: R16 262 million – this is a decrease of R3 055 million from December 2014
Imports: R26 493 million – this is an increase of R2 881 million from December 2014
Trade deficit: R10 231 million
This is a 138.2% increase in comparison to the R4 295 million deficit recorded in December 2014

Oceania:

Exports: R 877 million – this is a decrease of R 433 million from December 2014
Imports: R1 356 million – this is an increase of R 175 million from December 2014
Trade deficit: R 479 million
This is a comparison to the R 129 million surplus recorded in December 2014

For further information, visit the SARS website.