FX.co ★ South Africa Forex Reserves Hit Record High

In January 2026, South Africa's gross foreign exchange reserves surged to a record high of $80.193 billion, marking the most significant value since the inception of data collection in 1998. This represents an increase from December 2025’s total of $75.892 billion. The growth was primarily attributed to substantial rises in gold reserves, which increased to $20.670 billion from $17.493 billion, alongside slight upticks in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) holdings, moving up to $6.666 billion from $6.604 billion. Additionally, foreign currency reserves experienced an increment to $52.857 billion from $51.795 billion. In contrast, the forward position, reflecting the central bank's unsettled or swap transactions, notably declined to $0.564 billion in January, down from $1.161 billion in December.