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

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP120.3 billion (USD14.97 billion) at the end of July 2008. The reserves increased by 1.5% from the revised value of MOP118.5 billion (USD14.75 billion) for the previous month. When compared with the same period last year, the reserves increased by MOP28.9 billion or 31.6%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-July 2008 represented 29 times the currency in circulation or about 231.9% of Pataca M2 at end-June 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, dropped by 0.40 points month-to-month or 4.66 points year-on-year to 86.60 in July 2008. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)