Monetary Statistics for June 2019

According to statistics published today (Wednesday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions stayed virtually unchanged in June 2019. With increases in time deposits exceeding decreases in demand and savings deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits went up by 0.5% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits decreased by 0.4% in June. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 3.2% to RMB604.2 billion at the end of June. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB440.6 billion in June, compared with RMB477.3 billion in May.

Total loans and advances rose by 1.1% in June. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) picked up by 1.2% from a month ago, while loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 0.8%.¹ The Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio climbed to 89.3% at the end of June from 88.3% at the end of May, as Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a faster pace than Hong Kong-dollar deposits.

In the second quarter of 2019, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 2.3% following growth of 2.2% in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the increase in loans during the second quarter was mainly led by residential mortgage loans and loans to building, construction, property development and investment.

Both the Hong Kong-dollar M2 and M3 increased by 0.5% in June and rose by 3.5% from a year earlier. The increases in the Hong Kong-dollar M2 and M3 were led by a rise in Hong Kong-dollar deposits. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 0.8% in June and declined by 4.1% year-on-year, reflecting in part investment-related activities. With the increase in Hong Kong-dollar deposits exceeding the decline in foreign-currency deposits, total M2 and M3 both edged up by 0.1% in June and grew by 4.0% 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.

Annex

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 July 2019