Monetary Statistics for February 2022
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According to statistics published today (March 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions decreased by 1.1 per cent in February 2022 after increasing by 2.6 per cent in January. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 0.5 per cent in February, while foreign currency deposits decreased by 2.6 per cent. Driven by fund flows of corporates, renminbi deposits in Hong Kong dropped by 17.3 per cent in February after increasing significantly by 18.2 per cent in January, amounting to RMB906.7 billion at the end of February. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB500.7 billion in February, compared with RMB699.4 billion in January. It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities. It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month. In the first two months of 2022, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 1.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Total loans and advances edged up by 0.1 per cent in February, and rose by 0.9 per cent in the first two months of 2022. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.4 per cent in February, while loans for use outside Hong Kong declined by 0.4 per cent. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 85.3 per cent at the end of February from 85.7 per cent at the end of January, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased while Hong Kong dollar loans remained virtually unchanged.
Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both grew by 0.3 per cent in February, but both decreased by 1.1 per cent compared to a year ago. Large-scale IPO activities at the end of February 2021 led to a high base effect on the year-on-year growth of money supply. Excluding the deposits created by the IPO-related loans, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 in February both increased by 0.8 per cent compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 3.2 per cent in February, and grew by 4.2 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and M3 both declined by 1.2 per cent in February, but increased by 3.6 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively from a year earlier. Excluding the deposits created by the IPO-related loans, total M2 and M3 both picked up by 4.6 per cent from a year earlier.
As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.
Ends/Thursday, March 31, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:30
Issued at HKT 16:30
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