Monetary Statistics for January 2000

According to statistics published today (28 February 2000) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits and total loans and advances both decreased during the month of January. Table 1 provides a summary and comparison with earlier months.

Deposits

Total deposits registered a moderate decline of 0.7% in January, following a 0.6% rise in the preceding month. As Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased faster than foreign currency deposits, the share of Hong Kong dollar deposits in total deposits dropped slightly from 55.4% in December 1999 to 55.2% in January 2000.

Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased moderately by 0.9% in January. The decline reflected partly a switch from deposits to cash ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays. Among different categories of deposits, demand and savings deposits increased notably by 8.0% and 3.6% respectively, while time deposits decreased by 3.4%.

Foreign currency deposits recorded a small decline of 0.3% in January. Of the total, US dollar deposits increased by 2.0%, while non-US dollar deposits shrank by 3.5%. The decline in the latter partly reflected valuation effects.

Loans and advances

Total loans and advances contracted by 1.9% in January. Of the total, domestic loans declined moderately by 0.5%, while loans for use outside Hong Kong registered a larger decline, of 4.9%. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar-denominated loans increased slightly by 0.1% in January, while foreign currency loans shrank by 4.6%. As Hong Kong dollar deposits declined while Hong Kong dollar loans increased, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged up slightly from 91.3% in December to 92.3% in January.

Money supply

Hong Kong dollar M1 increased significantly by 5.9% in January, with both currency held by the public and demand deposits registering a rise. Meanwhile, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 declined moderately by 0.7% and 0.8% respectively during the month. Compared with a year ago, Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 22.6% in January, while both Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 were up by 5.4%.

Note to editors

For enquiries, please contact the Press Section, Hong Kong Monetary Authority. (Telephone: 2878 8261)

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

28 February 2000