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

Gross reserves rose to $51.146 billion from $49.539 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 from $1.933 billion in the previous month.

Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by David Goodman