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DAR ES SALAAM, March 27 Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:39am EDT
(Reuters) - Tanzania's current account deficit expanded by 34.7 percent in January from a year earlier to equal 17 percent of GDP, weighed down by higher oil imports and a decline in gold exports, the central bank said on Thursday.
Africa's fourth-largest gold producer, with a population of around 45 million, relies heavily on tourism and gold exports.
Tourism remained the country's top foreign exchange earner in January, generating $1.897 billion in revenues, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier as the number of tourist arrivals increased, the central bank data showed.
The current account deficit widened to $4.975 billion from $3.694 billion a year earlier, the Bank of Tanzania said in its latest monthly economic report.
It is now equal to 17 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product, a government official said.
The value of oil imports rose 27.4 percent to $4.32 billion in January year-on-year, driven by an increase in volume and despite a decline in global oil prices.
However, the overall balance of payments expanded to $534.8 million in surplus compared with a surplus of $316.6 million in January last year. The bank attributed this to increased inflows from capital grants, external borrowing and foreign direct investments.
Gold export earnings fell 16.5 percent to $1.754 billion in January, from $2.102 billion a year ago, due to a decline in both export volumes and prices.
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by James Macharia and Susan Fenton)
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(Reuters) - Tanzania's current account deficit expanded by 34.7 percent in January from a year earlier to equal 17 percent of GDP, weighed down by higher oil imports and a decline in gold exports, the central bank said on Thursday.
Africa's fourth-largest gold producer, with a population of around 45 million, relies heavily on tourism and gold exports.
Tourism remained the country's top foreign exchange earner in January, generating $1.897 billion in revenues, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier as the number of tourist arrivals increased, the central bank data showed.
The current account deficit widened to $4.975 billion from $3.694 billion a year earlier, the Bank of Tanzania said in its latest monthly economic report.
It is now equal to 17 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product, a government official said.
The value of oil imports rose 27.4 percent to $4.32 billion in January year-on-year, driven by an increase in volume and despite a decline in global oil prices.
However, the overall balance of payments expanded to $534.8 million in surplus compared with a surplus of $316.6 million in January last year. The bank attributed this to increased inflows from capital grants, external borrowing and foreign direct investments.
Gold export earnings fell 16.5 percent to $1.754 billion in January, from $2.102 billion a year ago, due to a decline in both export volumes and prices.
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by James Macharia and Susan Fenton)