Kenya’s current account deficit (CAD) in November widened to 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), against 4.7 per cent in the same period 2020, owing to a higher import bill.
“The wider deficit was due to a higher import bill, particularly oil, which more than offset increased receipts from agricultural and services exports, and remittances,” Central Bank said in its weekly bulletin.
A current account deficit occurs when a country spends more money on imports than it receives from its exports.
The CAD expanded by 27.4 per cent in Q3’2021 to Ksh 184.6 billion from Ksh 145.0 billion recorded in Q3’2020. This was attributed to a robust increase in merchandise imports by 39.6 per cent to Ksh 321.8 billion in Q3’2021, from Ksh 230.5 billion in Q3’2020.
The Leading Economic Indicators report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) notes that the value of the country’s total exports decreased from KSh64.91 billion in October 2021 to KSh64.21 billion in November 2021.
The value of imports increased from KSh187.86 billion in October 2021 to KSh 191.81 billion in November 2021.
