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Johannesburg - South Africa's net gold and foreign exchange reserves dipped in November, largely due to a sharply weaker rand during the month, according to data released by the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) on Tuesday.
Net reserves stood at $43.08bn at the end of November from $43.112bn in October, while gross reserves fell to $43.351bn from $44.2bn, the Sarb said in a statement posted on its website.
"The gross gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased ... mainly due to valuation adjustments ... arising from the appreciation of the US dollar against other major currencies," the Sarb said.
The decrease was partially offset by an increase in the overbought forward position - representing the bank's unsettled spot or swap transactions - which rose to $3.779bn in November from $3.124bn in October.
Economists polled by Reuters on Monday forecast an increase to $43.5bn in net reserves while gross reserves were seen rising slightly to $44.4bn.
Sarb data on Tuesday showed the rand weakened about 2.32% against the dollar during November, when investors backed out of high-yielding but risky assets mainly due to renewed debt worries in the euro zone.
The rand was last at R6.8890 to the greenback on Tuesday compared to R6.8725 before release of the data around 08:00.
The bank started using the forward position in August to mitigate the sterilisation costs of building reserves. It buys dollars in the spot market and settles them by entering into longer-term contracts.
Net reserves stood at $43.08bn at the end of November from $43.112bn in October, while gross reserves fell to $43.351bn from $44.2bn, the Sarb said in a statement posted on its website.
"The gross gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased ... mainly due to valuation adjustments ... arising from the appreciation of the US dollar against other major currencies," the Sarb said.
The decrease was partially offset by an increase in the overbought forward position - representing the bank's unsettled spot or swap transactions - which rose to $3.779bn in November from $3.124bn in October.
Economists polled by Reuters on Monday forecast an increase to $43.5bn in net reserves while gross reserves were seen rising slightly to $44.4bn.
Sarb data on Tuesday showed the rand weakened about 2.32% against the dollar during November, when investors backed out of high-yielding but risky assets mainly due to renewed debt worries in the euro zone.
The rand was last at R6.8890 to the greenback on Tuesday compared to R6.8725 before release of the data around 08:00.
The bank started using the forward position in August to mitigate the sterilisation costs of building reserves. It buys dollars in the spot market and settles them by entering into longer-term contracts.
