Monetary Statistics for February 2006

Press Releases

31 Mar 2006

Monetary Statistics for February 2006

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 3.8% in February 2006, with Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency deposits rising by 7.1% and 0.1% respectively. Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits grew by 0.3% to RMB22.6 billion yuan in February.

Total loans and advances increased by 5.4% in February, with loans for use in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong rising by 6.0% and 0.8% respectively. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar loans increased while foreign currency loans registered a decline. As Hong Kong dollar deposits expanded more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio decreased marginally to 82.1% in February.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 fell by 0.9% in February and by 13.6% from a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 6.0% during the month, and by 12.3% and 12.4% respectively on a year-on-year comparison.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Kevin Ip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 March 2006

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