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

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP126.4 billion (USD15.83 billion) at the end of November 2008. The reserves rose by 2.1% from the revised value of MOP123.8 billion (USD15.50 billion) for the previous month. When compared with the same period last year, the reserves increased by MOP23.0 billion or 22.2%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-November 2008 represented 29 times the currency in circulation or about 238.4% of Pataca M2 at end-October 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, rose by 1.39 points month-to-month and 3.37 points year-on-year to 92.96 in November 2008. For enquiry, please contact: Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)