SA's trade surplus narrowed sharply in December coming in at R15.5bn, well below market expectations and nearly halving from the R34bn recorded in November, SA Revenue Service (Sars) data revealed on Friday.
The December surplus was attributable to exports of R160bn and imports of R144.6bn, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia.
However, for full-year 2024, the preliminary trade balance surplus reached R196.1bn, a notable improvement from the R130.0bn recorded in 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, exports in December were 3.3% lower, compared with R165.6bn in December 2023 while imports declined 1.3%, down from R146.6bn in the same period.
Month on month, exports fell sharply by R20.2bn (minus 11.2%), from R180.3bn in November, driven by weaker shipments of platinum group metals (PGMs) and vehicles (both passenger and goods transport).
Imports declined marginally by R1.6bn (minus 1.1%) month on month, reflecting lower purchases of rice, electrical transformers and inductors, and nitrogenous mineral or chemical fertiliser.
As part of routine adjustments, Sars revised down the November 2024 trade balance surplus from R34.7bn to R34bn, after ongoing vouchers of corrections.
“The global manufacturing environment in a number of advanced countries remains lacklustre, weighing on demand,” Investec economist Lara Hodes said, citing results of the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI survey for December, which stated “the global manufacturing sector fell back into contraction at the end of 2024, with output and new orders declining in December.”
Hodes said: “Domestically, inefficiencies and deficient infrastructure, particularly on the logistics front, continue to weigh on export potential.
“Going forward, globally, uncertainty prevails around the timing and extent of US trade tariffs, which could have a marked effect on global trade and growth.”
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