South Africa’s gross foreign exchange reserves rose to $75.95 billion in August 2026, up from $73.45 billion in July, reaching their highest level since May. The increase was driven mainly by a higher US dollar gold price, the maturity of forward exchange contracts used for liquidity management, and valuation gains resulting from movements in exchange rates and asset prices. These factors were partially offset by foreign exchange payments made on behalf of the government.
Gold reserves increased to $17.995 billion from $16.375 billion in July, while foreign exchange reserves grew to $51.264 billion from $50.406 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDR) holdings inched up to $6.695 billion from $6.67 billion. In contrast, the forward position — reflecting the South African Reserve Bank’s unsettled forward and swap transactions — fell to $0.565 billion from $1.185 billion.
