South Africa Forex Reserves Fall in May

Gross foreign exchange reserves in South Africa fell to $76.58 billion in May 2026 from $77.09 billion in the previous month, remaining at their lowest level since December 2025. The decline in gross reserves and international liquidity was mainly driven by a drop in the US dollar value of gold holdings and government-related foreign exchange outflows. Gold reserves decreased ($18.274 billion vs $18.700 billion in April), while foreign currency reserves also declined ($51.661 billion vs $51.725 billion). At the same time, the forward position, representing the central bank's unsettled forward or swap transactions, edged down to $0.584 billion from $0.586 billion in the previous month, while SDR holdings decreased by $0.016 billion to $6.648 billion from $6.664 billion.

Gross foreign exchange reserves fell to $77.09 billion in April 2026, from $77.76 billion in the previous month, marking the lowest level since December 2025. The changes in gross reserves and the international liquidity position were mainly due to a foreign exchange loan received from the French Development Agency (AFD) on behalf of the government, amounting to US$235.8 million, as well as an increase in the US dollar gold price and valuation adjustments due to foreign exchange and asset price movements. Foreign exchange reserves specifically declined to $51.7 billion from $52.7 billion in March. In contrast, gold reserves increased slightly to $18.7 billion from $18.5 billion, while Special Drawing Rights (SDR) holdings edged up to $6.7 billion from $6.6 billion. Meanwhile, the central bank’s forward position, reflecting unsettled or swap transactions, remained unchanged at $0.59 billion. In April 2025, the reserves stood at $67.59 billion.

Gross foreign exchange reserves in South Africa decreased to $77.76 billion in March 2026 from a record $81.01 billion in February. The changes in the gross reserves and international liquidity position were mainly due to the decrease in the US dollar gold price, valuation adjustments due to foreign exchange and asset price movements and, the foreign exchange payments made on behalf of government. Gold reserves fell to $18.50 billion from $20.93 billion in the previous month, SDR holdings edged down to $6.59 billion from $6.63 billion, and foreign exchange reserves dropped to $52.67 billion from $53.50 billion. Meanwhile, the forward position, representing the central bank’s unsettled or swap transactions, rose slightly to $0.59 billion from $0.57 billion. In March 2025, the reserves stood at $67.45 billion.