JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Surprise tweaks to South Africa's trade and budget numbers in the last month have sprinkled hope on a grim economic outlook but also sparked accusations of window-dressing by Pretoria to appease the ratings agencies breathing down its neck.
After making changes that produced an unexpected drop last month in the budget deficit to 4.2 percent of GDP, the Treasury revealed late on Thursday it would be including small neighbours Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland in monthly trade figures, a measure that should trim the trade deficit.
