FX.co ★ South Africa Current Account Gap Largest in 1-1/2-Years

In the second quarter of 2025, South Africa experienced an increase in its current account deficit, reaching ZAR 82.8 billion, up from a revised ZAR 47.8 billion in the preceding quarter. This marks the largest deficit on record since the fourth quarter of 2023. The primary reason for this widening gap was the shrinking of the trade surplus, which decreased to ZAR 177.1 billion from ZAR 211.0 billion in the first quarter. Additionally, the deficit in the services, income, and current transfer accounts widened slightly to ZAR 259.9 billion, compared to ZAR 258.9 billion previously. This increase was primarily due to a larger deficit in the income account, despite reductions in the deficits of both the services and current transfer accounts.