South Africa Logs Widest Current Account Gap Since 2015

South Africa posted a current account deficit of ZAR 205.5 billion in Q2 2026, the widest since Q4 2015, compared to a surplus of ZAR 181.6 billion in the previous period. The quarter was the first to fully capture the impact of the war in Iran, which pushed up energy prices and import costs. The trade surplus narrowed sharply to ZAR 146.4 billion from ZAR 428.8 billion in Q1, as the value of merchandise imports far outpaced that of merchandise and net gold exports. The increase in the import bill was driven largely by an 82% surge in the value of crude oil imports, reflecting South Africa’s high reliance on imported fuel. Concurrently, the shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account widened sharply to ZAR 351.9 billion from ZAR 247.2 billion, mainly attributed to a substantial increase in the primary income deficit. As a ratio of GDP, the current account balance shifted to a deficit of 2.6% in Q2, the highest since Q3 2019, from a surplus of 2.3% in Q1.

South Africa recorded a current account surplus of ZAR 190.7 billion in Q1 2026, the widest since Q3 2021, up from ZAR 50.2 billion in the previous period. The trade surplus surged to ZAR 437.9 billion from ZAR 282.2 billion in Q4 2025, driven by a 3.2% rise in merchandise and net gold exports, while merchandise imports dropped by 4.3%. Meanwhile, the shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account widened to ZAR 247.2 billion in Q1 from ZAR 232.1 billion in Q4 2025, reflecting larger deficits on the primary income and current transfer accounts, partly offset by a narrower services deficit. As a ratio of GDP, the country's current account surplus widened to 2.4% in Q1 from 0.6% in Q4 2025.

South Africa posted a current account surplus of ZAR 50.2 billion in Q4 2025, compared to a revised deficit of ZAR 72 billion in the previous period. This marks the first surplus since Q3 2023 and the largest since Q1 2022, as the trade surplus widened sharply to ZAR 282.2 billion from ZAR 169 billion in Q3 on stronger exports and weaker imports. Meanwhile, the deficit on the services, income and current transfer account narrowed from to ZAR 232.1 billion from ZAR 241 billion in the previous quarter. Similarly, the current account balance shifted to a surplus of 0.6% of GDP in Q4 2025 from a 0.9% deficit in Q3. For the full year, the deficit shrank to ZAR 35.2 billion (0.5% of GDP) in 2025 from ZAR 48.0 billion (0.7% of GDP) in 2024.