South Africa’s net foreign reserves fell to $42.872 billion (R545 billion) in May from $43.115 billion (R548 billion) in April, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday.

Gross reserves rose to $51.146 billion (R650.44 billion) from $49.539 billion (R630 billion) the central bank data showed.

The forward position, which represents the central bank’s unsettled or swap transactions, declined slightly to $1.918 billion (R24.4 billion) from $1.933 billion (R24.6 billion) in the previous month.