south africas current account deficit narrowed markedly in the third quarter due to a reduced shortfall on the primary income account even as the countrys trade surplus fell according to central bank data published thursday the current account deficit came in at 181 billion rand 106 billion from july to september less than the zar107 billion deficit registered in the previous quarter according to data from the south african reserve bank as a ratio of gross domestic product the current account deficit was 03 down from 16 the prior quarter south africas trade surplus fell to zar233 billion from zar252 billion the previous quarter as the cost of imports increased while the price of exports decreased the sarb said south africas economy expanded 16 in the third quarter compared with the previous threemonth period as agriculture industrial and mining activity recovered from the floodrelated disruptions even as electricity outages persisted