Written by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala | From 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.

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