Foreign Exchange Reserves and Nominal Effective Exchange Rate Index for the Pataca March 2008

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP114.9 billion (USD14.3 billion) at the end of March 2008. The reserves increased by 2.8% from the revised figure of MOP111.8 billion (USD14.0 billion) for the previous month. When compared with the same period last year, the reserves increased by MOP32.8 billion or 40.0%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-March 2008 represented 28 times the currency in circulation or about 219% of Pataca M2 at end-February 2008. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency’s exchange rates against the currencies of Macao’s major trading partners, fell by 1.22 points month-to-month or 5.17 points year-on-year, from 88.74 in February to 87.52 in March 2008. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)