Monetary Statistics for February 2005

According to statistics published today (Thursday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions grew by 1.4% in February 2005. The increase was attributable to a 3.0% rise in Hong Kong dollar deposits, which exceeded the decline of 0.4% in foreign currency deposits. Among the foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits amounted to RMB13.9 billion yuan in February, compared with RMB13.1 billion yuan in January.

Total loans and advances increased further by 0.9% in February, with loans for use in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong rising by 0.8% and 1.4% respectively. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency loans both recorded an increase. As Hong Kong dollar deposits rose more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio fell to 83.7% in February.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 declined by 5.5% in February, but rose by 10.0% from a year ago. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both increased by 2.9% during the month, and by 3.2% and 3.0% respectively from a year earlier.

For further enquiries, please contact:

H. F. Wong, Resource Coordinator (Press), at 2878 1802 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 March 2005

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