Rand falls as trade deficit widens
By Ntsakisi Maswanganyi
A WIDER than expected January trade deficit saw the rand lose more than 1% on Friday on concerns that the current account of the balance of payments would continue to be under pressure, making SA more vulnerable to capital outflows.
The trade balance reversed from a R6.7bn surplus in December to a staggering R24.4bn deficit in January — its worst since January 2013 — as exports tumbled and imports rose.
The rand plummeted to R11.65/$ after the South African Revenue Service (SARS) published trade data on Friday, after closing at R11.53 on Thursday.
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