South Africa recorded a current account deficit of ZAR 205.5 billion in Q2 2026, the largest since Q4 2015, following a surplus of ZAR 181.6 billion in the previous quarter. This was the first full quarter to capture the economic fallout from the war in Iran, which drove up energy prices and significantly increased import costs.
The trade surplus narrowed sharply to ZAR 146.4 billion in Q2 from ZAR 428.8 billion in Q1, as the value of merchandise imports rose much more rapidly than that of merchandise exports and net gold exports. The jump in the import bill was driven primarily by an 82% surge in the value of crude oil imports, underscoring South Africa’s heavy dependence on imported fuel.
At the same time, the deficit on the services, income and current transfer account widened considerably, to ZAR 351.9 billion from ZAR 247.2 billion in the previous quarter, largely due to a marked increase in the primary income deficit.
As a share of GDP, the current account swung from a surplus of 2.3% in Q1 to a deficit of 2.6% in Q2.