JOHANNESBURG, Dec 8 (Reuters) – South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to 0.3% of gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2022 from a deficit of 1.6% in the second quarter, central bank data showed on Thursday.

In rand terms, the current account deficit for the July-September period was 18.1 billion rand ($1.06 billion), from a deficit of 107 billion rand in the previous quarter.

The trade surplus fell to 233 billion rand in the quarter from 252 billion rand in the prior quarter, as the value of merchandise exports and imports increased to all-time highs, the central bank said in a statement.

Statistics South Africa data showed on Tuesday that the country’s economy grew by 1.6% in the third quarter, supported by exports and a strong showing by the agricultural sector.

($1 = 17.1282 rand)

(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)