Monetary Statistics for February 2018
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According to statistics published today (March 29) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions decreased by 0.8 per cent in February 2018. As the increases in savings and time deposits offset the decline in demand deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits stayed virtually unchanged during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits dropped by 1.7 per cent in February. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 0.7 per cent to RMB550.4 billion at the end of February. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB301.6 billion in February, compared with RMB373.4 billion in January.
Total loans and advances grew by 0.3 per cent in February. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.3 per cent from a month ago and loans for use outside Hong Kong picked up by 0.4 per cent. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while Hong Kong-dollar deposits stayed virtually unchanged, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio went up to 81.4 per cent at the end of February from 81.1 per cent at the end of January.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 edged down by 0.2 per cent in February but expanded by 15.4 per cent year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased by 0.2 per cent during the month and rose by 12.2 per cent from a year earlier.
Ends/Thursday, March 29, 2018
Issued at HKT 16:45
Issued at HKT 16:45
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