Statement issued by the South African Reserve Bankon the Gold and Foreign Exchange Reservesof the Bank as at 28 February 1997 4 March 1997  In view of the importance attached to the monthly gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Reserve Bank, it was decided in future to release this information as soon as possible after the end of each month, instead of waiting for the finalisation of the Bank's monthly Statement of Assets and Liabilities.The Bank's provisional gross gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to R12,5 billion as at 28 February 1997, compared to R11,8 billion as at 31 January 1997. During February the Bank utilised foreign credit lines to the value of R2,1 billion, in part to fund the redemption of the Republic of South Africa's ECU 250 million 10,375% bond issue which fell due for repayment on 10 February 1997, and in part to augment the Bank's foreign exchange liquidity.Any possible changes to these preliminary figures will be reflected in the Bank's monthly Statement to be published on Friday, 7 March 1997. ​