Gross foreign exchange reserves in South Africa rose to a new historical high of $70.420 billion in August 2025 from $69.161 billion in the previous month. The increase was mainly driven by higher gold reserves ($13.757 billion vs $13.332 billion in July), foreign currency reserves ($50.160 billion vs $49.395 billion) and SDR holdings ($6.499 billion vs $6.434 billion). Additionally, the forward position, representing the central bank’s unsettled or swap transactions, remained steady at $0.535 billion in August, unchanged from the preceding period.