Monetary Statistics for April 2012

According to statistics published today (Thursday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions rose by 1.0% in April. As the expansion in demand and savings deposits exceeded the contraction in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits increased by 0.7% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits rose by 1.4% in April, while renminbi deposits in Hong Kong declined by 0.4% to RMB552.4 billion. The total remittance of the renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB177.1 billion in April, compared with RMB227.3 billion in the previous month.

Total loans and advances increased by 0.9% in April. Loans for use in Hong Kong rose by 0.8% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 1.1%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged down to 82.4% at the end of April from 82.5% a month ago.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 grew by 3.4% in April and expanded by 8.6% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 rose by 0.6% during the month and increased by 5.5% from a year earlier.

Annex

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 May 2012