South Africa’s current account deficit shrank by much more than expected in the third quarter, buoyed by a surge in the trade balance as the volume of imports fell. The deficit on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, shrank to an annualised 0.3% of gross domestic product, or R19.3-billion, from a revised 2.7% of GDP in the prior quarter, the South African Reserve Bank said in a statement Thursday.