[miningmx.com] — THE 13% increase in the spot price of gold contributed to a surge in South African foreign reserves in August, the Reserve Bank said in a statement today.
South African reserves increased 2.7% with gross gold and foreign currency reserves rising to $51.45m from $50.11bn in July. Net reserves increased to $49.13bn from $47.87bn.
“The increase in gross reserves was primarily due to a higher US dollar gold price and the depreciation of the US dollar against other major currencies,” the South African Reserve Bank said in a statement.
South Africa’s gold reserves rose 13% to $7.3bn last month, the central bank said.
The spot price of gold was 13% higher in August. It touched a high of R1,913.50 per ounce in London on August 23 and is, according to a report by Bloomberg News, in its 11th year of a bull market – the longest winning streak since 1920.
