South Africa's merchandise exports increased from the previous month in April, data released by Statistics South Africa showed Friday.
The value of exports increased 3 percent month-on-month to ZAR65.43 billion in April. The growth was driven by a 4 percent rise in shipments of mineral products and a 10 percent gain in dispatches of base metals.
At the same time, imports climbed 12.1 percent sequentially to ZAR80.45 billion during the month. In April, the country's main imports were mineral products, plastics and rubber, base metals, machinery and electrical appliances and original equipment components.
The net trade resulted in a deficit of ZAR15.02 billion, which reflected the faster growth of imports than exports. In the January-April period, the trade balance was a deficit of ZAR57.01 billion, data showed.
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