Johannesburg - South Africa's trade deficit narrowed more than expected to 190 million rand in June from a revised 7.44 billion rand shortfall in May, data from the South African Revenue Service showed on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a trade gap of 6.3 billion rand, but the number tends to be volatile, making it difficult to forecast.
Exports rose by 3.7 percent to 80.27 billion rand, while imports decreased by 5.1 percent to 80.46 billion rand.
The latest data brings the cumulative deficit for 2014 to 48.27 billion rand compared with 35.57 billion rand over the same period in 2013.
The data incorporates previously excluded trade data with South Africa's neighbours Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. - Reuters