South Africa Balance of Trade  1957-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar

South African trade balance shifted to a ZAR 8.79 billion surplus in August of 2018 from an upwardly revised ZAR 5.29 bilion deficit in July and above market expectations of a ZAR 5 billion surplus. Considering the January to August period, the country posted a ZAR 2.66 billion surplus. Balance of Trade in South Africa averaged 86.10 ZAR Million from 1957 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 18730.94 ZAR Million in May of 2016 and a record low of -27100 ZAR Million in January of 2018.

South Africa Balance of Trade
width
height
 Preview
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. It allows API clients to download millions of rows of historical data, to query our real-time economic calendar, subscribe to updates and receive quotes for currencies, commodities, stocks and bonds.

API Features Documentation Interested? Click here to contact us


South Africa Trade Balance Swings to Surplus in August


South African trade balance shifted to a ZAR 8.79 billion surplus in August of 2018 from an upwardly revised ZAR 5.29 bilion deficit in July and above market expectations of a ZAR 5 billion surplus. Considering the January to August period, the country posted a ZAR 2.66 billion surplus.

Exports increased 9.4 percent month-over-month to ZAR 116.88 billion in August 2018, driven by higher sales of vehicles and transport equipment (32 percent); mineral products (10 percent); precious metals and stones (7percent); chemicals (12 percent) and base metals (5 percent). The most important export partners were: China (9.0 percent of total exports), Germany (7.9 percent); the US (5.8 percent), the UK (5.3 percent) and India (5.0 percent).

Imports dropped 3.6 percent month-over-month to ZAR 112.15 billion, mainly due to lower purchases of mineral products (-37 percent) and  vegetables (-33 percent). On the other hand, higher purchases were recorded for precious machinery and electronics (6 percent); metals and stonces (28 percent) and original equipment components (8 percent). Main import partners were:  China (19 percent of total imports), Germany (11.7 percent), the US (6.3 percent), India (4.7 percent) and the UK (3.7 percent). 

Excluding trade with neighboring Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, the country recorded a trade surplus of ZAR 0.05 billion in August.


South African Revenue Service | Stefanie Moya | stefanie.moya@tradingeconomics.com
9/28/2018 12:24:50 PM


Recent Releases

South Africa Trade Balance Swings to Deficit in July
South Africa trade balance shifted to a ZAR 4.66 billion deficit in July of 2018 from a downwardly revised ZAR 11.89 billion surplus in the previous month and well below market consensus of a ZAR 5.4 billion surplus. It was the largest trade deficit since January, as exports fell while imports picked up. Considering the first seven months of the year, the country recorded a trade deficit of ZAR 6.51 billion.
Published on 2018-08-31

South Africa Trade Surplus Largest in 6 Months
South Africa trade surplus widened to ZAR 12.0 billion in June of 2018 from an upwardly revised ZAR 3.84 billion in the previous month and well above market expectations of a ZAR 5.0 billion surplus. It was the largest trade surplus since December last year, as exports rose and imports fell. Considering the first half of the year, the country recorded a trade deficit of ZAR 1.79 billion.
Published on 2018-07-31

South Africa Trade Surplus Widens in May
South Africa trade surplus increased to ZAR 3.52 billion from aun upwardly revised ZAR 1.17 billion in the previous month and below market expectations of a ZAR 5.9 billion surplus. Considering the January to May period, the country posted a trade deficit of ZAR 17.77 billion.
Published on 2018-06-29

South Africa Trade Surplus Narrows Sharply in April
South Africa trade surplus decreased to ZAR 1.14 billion in April of 2018 from a downwardly revised ZAR 9.30 billion in the prior month, missing market expectations of a ZAR 3.7 billion surplus. Considering the January to April period, the country recorded a trade deficit of ZAR 17.6 billion.
Published on 2018-05-31



Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2018-07-31 12:00 PM Balance of Trade ZAR12.0B ZAR3.84B ZAR5B ZAR 5.1B
2018-08-31 12:00 PM Balance of Trade ZAR-4.7B ZAR11.9B ZAR5.4B ZAR 5.6B
2018-09-28 12:00 PM Balance of Trade ZAR8.8B ZAR-5.3B ZAR5B ZAR 0.82B
2018-10-31 12:00 PM Balance of Trade ZAR8.8B ZAR 7.3B
2018-11-30 12:00 PM Balance of Trade ZAR -2.6B
2018-12-28 12:00 PM Balance of Trade ZAR 0.21B


South Africa Trade Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit
Balance of Trade 8794.70 -5294.00 18730.94 -27100.00 ZAR Million [+]
Exports 116883.30 106851.00 116883.30 55.80 ZAR Million [+]
Imports 108088.60 112146.00 112146.00 66.10 ZAR Million [+]
Current Account -163760.00 -219401.00 15627.00 -246452.00 ZAR Million [+]
Current Account to GDP -2.50 -2.80 6.00 -7.50 percent [+]
External Debt 170811.00 183239.00 183239.00 33262.00 USD Million [+]
Tourist Arrivals 1303293.00 1160094.00 1598893.00 37430.00 [+]
Gold Reserves 125.30 125.30 183.51 123.48 Tonnes [+]
Terrorism Index 4.09 3.53 4.23 0.22 [+]
Weapons Sales 74.00 65.00 235.00 1.00 USD Million [+]
Crude Oil Production 2.00 2.00 58.00 2.00 BBL/D/1K [+]
Foreign Direct Investment 1863.00 1961.00 2101.00 1.00 ZAR Billion [+]

Exports by Country  |   Exports by Category  |   Imports by Country  |   Imports by Category



South Africa Balance of Trade

In 2017, South Africa recorded the biggest trade deficits with China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Thailand, France, Nigeria, Italy and Brazil and the biggest trade surpluses with Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Belgium and Netherlands. This page provides the latest reported value for - South Africa Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. South Africa Balance of Trade - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2018.

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
8794.70 -5294.00 18730.94 -27100.00 1957 - 2018 ZAR Million Monthly




balance of trade by Country
Country Last
Argentina -1127.00 Aug/18
Australia 1604.00 Aug/18
Brazil 4971.00 Sep/18
Canada 526.10 Aug/18
China 316.93 Sep/18
Euro Area 17555.60 Jul/18
France -5632.00 Aug/18
Germany 17174.00 Aug/18
India -13980.00 Sep/18
Indonesia 227.10 Sep/18
Italy 5676.00 Jul/18
Japan -444.59 Aug/18
Mexico -2590.00 Aug/18
Netherlands 3463.00 Aug/18
Russia 15797.00 Aug/18
Saudi Arabia 162782.00 Jun/18
Singapore 6755.10 Aug/18
South Africa 8794.70 Aug/18
South Korea 9746.00 Sep/18
Spain -3247700.00 Jul/18
Switzerland 1407.94 Aug/18
Turkey -2421.79 Aug/18
United Kingdom -1274.00 Aug/18
United States -53237.00 Aug/18


Related
Latest