South Africa recorded a current account deficit in the second quarter after a strong surplus in the first three months of this year, as the Iran war drove import costs sharply higher, central bank data showed on Thursday.
The current account deficit was 2.6% of gross domestic product in the second quarter, compared with a surplus of 2.3% in the first quarter of 2026, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said.
The deficit on the current account was R205.5-billion in April-June, compared with a surplus of R181.6-billion in January-March.
The trade surplus narrowed sharply to R146.4-billion from R428.8-billion in the previous quarter.
The SARB said the value of crude oil and refined petroleum product imports in particular had surged, linking that to "heightened supply concerns related to the ongoing war in the Middle East".
For crude, the value of imports increased by 82.1% while the quantity imported increased by only 1.8%.
South Africa imports the majority of its fuel, making its economy heavily exposed to swings in global energy prices since the US-Israeli war against Iran started in late February.
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