Monetary Statistics for February 2024

According to statistics published today (28 March) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.2% in February 2024.  Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 0.2% while foreign currency deposits increased by 0.6% in February.  In the first two months of 2024, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively.  Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 1.0% in February to RMB964.2 billion at the end of February.  The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB1,064.4 billion in February, compared with RMB1,400.9 billion in January.  It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities.  It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.

Total loans and advances decreased by 1.0% in February, and decreased by 1.8% in the first two months of 2024.  Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 1.0% and 1.2% respectively in February.  The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 83.7% at the end of February from 84.2% at the end of January, as Hong Kong dollar loans decreased by a larger extent than Hong Kong dollar deposits.

Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both decreased by 0.3% in February while both increased by 0.1% when compared to a year ago.  The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 increased by 1.5% in February while decreased by 10.7% compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities.  Total M2 and total M3 both increased by 0.2% in February.  Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 increased by 4.0% and 4.1% respectively.  

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
28 March 2024