Macau | Forex reserves down 2.9 pct m-o-m in March

Macau (MNA) – The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) has announced on Monday that the city’s foreign exchange reserves decreased 2.9 per cent monthly to MOP156.9 billion (USD19.41 billion) as at the end of March.

The amount represents the second monthly decrease in foreign exchange amount, after February had seen a 1 per cent monthly decrease. 

The amount is ten times higher than the amount of currency in circulation and corresponds to 82.9 per cent of the Pataca M2, the measure of the currency supply or currency in circulation and quickly available deposits in banks.

Meanwhile, the trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the Pataca dropped 0.25 percentage points yearly to 100.5 in March, with the AMCM stating this implies the exchange rate of the Pataca declined against the currencies of the MSAR’s major trading partners.