South Africa had a 4.9 billion randtrade surplus in June after recording a 1.0 billion rand shortfall in May, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday.

The improvement in the trade account was "buoyed by higher commodity exports, specifically for precious and semi-precious stones and metals," SARS said in a statement.

Exports rose by 7.5 percent month-on-month in June while imports were down 2.9 percent.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expected the trade account to register a 1.0 billion rand surplus in June.