Monetary Statistics for March 2018
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According to statistics published today (April 30) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions decreased by 0.4 per cent in March 2018. As the decline in savings deposits exceeded the increase in demand and time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits decreased by 0.5 per cent during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits edged down by 0.3 per cent in March. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 0.7 per cent to RMB554.3 billion at the end of March. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB335.6 billion in March, compared with RMB301.6 billion in February.
Total loans and advances rose by 1.1 per cent in March. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) expanded by 1.2 per cent from a month ago and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 0.7 per cent. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while Hong Kong-dollar deposits declined, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio went up to 83.2 per cent at the end of March from 81.4 per cent at the end of February.
In the first quarter of 2018, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) expanded by 3.6 per cent following growth of 2.8 per cent in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the quarterly increase in loans was mainly driven by loans to financial concerns and loans to building, construction, property development and investment.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 0.6 per cent in March but expanded by 12.4 per cent year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 edged down by 0.5% during the month but rose by 9.6 per cent from a year earlier.
Ends/Monday, April 30, 2018
Issued at HKT 16:30
Issued at HKT 16:30
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