South Africa recorded an improved preliminary trade balance surplus of R10.5 billion in April, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) said on Friday.
This surplus was attributable to exports of R169.5bn and imports of R159.1bn, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia.
The result was ahead of consensus (Bloomberg) of an R8.1bn surplus.
The year-to-date preliminary trade balance surplus of R26.6bn was an improvement from the R6.7bn trade balance surplus for the comparable period in 2023, Sars said.
On a year-on-year basis, export flows for April at R169.5bn were 4.2% higher from the prior year, while import flows were 0.8% higher at R159.1bn
Sars said export flows increased in April, driven by platinum group metals, gold and passenger vehicles.
Imports flows increased on the back of sizeable increases in the importation of petroleum oils, excluding crude, original equipment components and passenger vehicles
“Due to ongoing Vouchers of Correction (VOCs), the preliminary trade balance surplus of R7.3bn announced for March 2024 was revised upwards by R1.9bn, with the final number at R9.2bn,” Sars said.
Lara Hodes, an investment analyst at Investec, said: “Going forward, we expect export activity to accelerate as global manufacturing conditions improve. Indeed, according to advance indications provided by the Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI release, the region saw accelerated ‘increases in business activity, new orders and employment’ in May, ‘while business confidence hit a 27-month high’.“
BUSINESS REPORT