Latest news with #currentAccount
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa's Current Account Deficit Narrows Slightly
South Africa's current-account deficit narrowed slightly in the first quarter, beating expectations for it to widen. The gap on the current account – the broadest measure of trade in goods and services – edged down to 35.6 billion rand ($2 billion) in the three months through March from a revised 39.3 billion rand in the previous period, data released Thursday by the central bank showed.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
South African rand weaker before Q1 current account data
JOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Reuters) - The South African rand was weaker in early trade on Thursday, ahead of local first-quarter current account data. At 0551 GMT the rand traded at 17.8425 against the dollar , about 0.2% weaker than Wednesday's close. The South African Reserve Bank will publish the country's first-quarter current account data (ZACACT=ECI), opens new tab at 0900 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters expect a deficit of 0.9%, wider than the 0.4% deficit reported in the previous quarter. Nedbank economists in a research note also forecast a wider shortfall, saying the first three months of 2025 likely recorded a smaller trade surplus as exports slowed slightly and imports increased. "The non-trade deficit probably also deteriorated as the rise in income receipts failed to offset the higher income payments," said the note. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was marginally stronger in early deals, as the yield fell 0.9 basis points to 9.991%.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Further signs Australia's GDP is set to slump
An unexpected fall in Australia's current account balance has become the latest economic indicator to suggest a sluggish national economy. While the drag was modest, Australia's current account balance rose by $1.7bn for the first three months of 2025 to an overall deficit of $14.7bn. This was larger than a forecast estimate of $12.5bn. Oxford Economics Australia lead economist Ben Udy said Tuesday's current account balance released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics was just another sign of a slowing economy. 'The modest drag from net trade along with recent downbeat GDP particles paints a sombre picture for tomorrow's GDP reading,' he said. The decline in the current account balance was largely driven by a fall in the Australian dollar, as net primary income lifted in Q1. The trade balance changed little in the quarter, as a small improvement in the balance of goods was offset by a $0.2bn fall in the goods and services surplus. ABS head of international statistics Tom Lay said there was mixed news for commodities. 'Commodity price falls, notably coal, led to Australian mining businesses seeing lower profits flow to foreign direct investors, which reduced Australia's income outflows,' he said. But the price of gold rose sharply in the first three months, leading to exports of goods to lift by 2.9 per cent following a 2.3 per cent rise in the last quarter. This was the first consecutive growth in exports since the June 2022 quarter. The March rise was led by non-monetary gold, with more gold being exported and prices continuing to rise from previous highs in the December 2024 quarter. 'The $4.8bn rise in non-monetary gold exports was the highest on record. It was led by $11bn of non-monetary gold exports to the USA, which was larger than the total combined value of non-monetary gold exports to the USA over the past four years,' Mr Lay said. Without the gold contribution, goods exports would have fallen by 1 per cent in the March quarter. Separate business indicator data also released by the ABS painted a similar picture with company gross operating profits falling 0.5 per cent for the March quarter on the back of a weaker mining sector. Company gross operating profits also fell by 6 per cent. The current account balance also showed exports of services fell 1.7 per cent this quarter, with a 2.8 per cent fall in travel services. Education-related travel exports also declined in the March quarter. 'Cost-of-living pressures and global uncertainty still appear to be weighing on households' travel plans, with both exports and imports of travel services declining in the quarter,' Mr Udy said.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Economist Brad Setser Sounds Alarm On China's Hidden Trade Surplus, Suggests Billions In Capital Outflows Are Being Masked
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Economist Brad Setser is raising concerns regarding the quiet shift in how China reports its trade surpluses, a change he says is masking billions of dollars in unreported income and capital outflows. What Happened: On the Keeping It Simple webinar series on Tuesday, Setser, a former staff economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said China's changes to how it tracks and reports trade data have 'reduced its current account surplus by about half relative to what I think it should be.' According to Setser, China's manufacturing surplus rose by about 1% of global GDP, or $1 trillion, so with this, half of it being suppressed suggests a gap of $500 billion in hidden trade surplus. Trending: In terms of getting money back, . For years, analysts could closely estimate China's current account using its customs-reported goods surplus and services trade balance. But during the pandemic, this correlation 'disappeared,' Setser says, adding that this discrepancy stems from a change in its reporting methodology. Instead of using transparent customs data, China now calculates its current account using an internal payments dataset that, according to Setser, 'is internal, it's not transparent and it's not disclosed.' Setser believes that the motivation behind this change may have been to avoid overseas scrutiny of China's growing trade surpluses. On the other hand, this 'fudge factor,' as he refers to it, may have been a way to conceal the nation's capital flight. 'One effect of reducing the current account surplus is you reduce estimates of the financial outflow and thereby the hot money that some people might say is embarrassingly leaving Xi's China,' he says. 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it Why It Matters: China's economic model has come under heavy criticism, especially recently, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accusing the country of creating persistent trade imbalances, which 'contribute to global dependence on U.S. demand to Spur growth.' Other eminent macro experts and economists, too, have urged the Chinese government to reform its economic model, including Nouriel Roubini, who stated last month that it wasn't just the U.S. that is demanding change, but 'the rest of the world expects it too.'Read Next: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: Schedule your free call with a financial advisor to start your financial journey – no cost, no obligation. Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target – Last Chance to get 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $0.30/share! Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Send To MSN: Send to MSN This article Economist Brad Setser Sounds Alarm On China's Hidden Trade Surplus, Suggests Billions In Capital Outflows Are Being Masked originally appeared on
