* Current account deficit reaches 4.9 pct of output in Q1
* Highest level in more than three years
* Rand falls 1 percent
(Updates with analyst, rand reaction)
By Xola Potelwa
JOHANNESBURG, June 21 (Reuters) – South Africa’s current
account deficit widened in the first quarter, reaching its
highest level in more than three years, as exports slumped to
debt-ridden Europe, the most important trading partner of
Africa’s biggest economy.
The current account deficit reached 4.9 percent of Gross
Domestic Product in the first three months of the year, the
central bank’s June Quarterly Bulletin said on Thursday, up from
3.6 percent in the previous quarter.
Export earnings fell 2.4 percent in the first quarter
compared with a 6.4 percent expansion in the last three months
of last year as prices fell in tandem with a 0.4 percent
contraction in volumes, it said.
The rand, which had enjoyed a week of gains against the
dollar, fell 1 percent amid expectations of a
wider-than-forecast deficit for this year.
The data poured cold water on hopes for an interest rate cut
this year after weaker-than-expected inflation figures for May
released this week.
Continued…
