The eastward current that forms the southern part of the South Pacific subtropical gyre. It is fed by the East Australian Current and its continuation, the East Auckland Current and East Cape Current, and follows the subtropical front. It is much weaker than the South Atlantic and South Indian Ocean Currents, carrying little more than 5 Sv (5 × 10⁶ m³s⁻¹). Nevertheless, cooling of the warm water from the western boundary currents along its path makes the South Pacific Current a heat source for the atmosphere. It feeds its water into the Peru/Chile Current.