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

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP116.7 billion (USD14.5 billion) at the end of April 2008. The reserves increased by 1.5% from the revised value of MOP114.9 billion (USD14.3 billion) for the previous month. When compared with the same period last year, the reserves increased by MOP32.2 billion or 38.1%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-April 2008 represented 29 times the currency in circulation or about 223% of Pataca M2 at end-March 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 0.54 points month-to-month or 5.20 points year-on-year, from 87.52 in March to 86.98 in April 2008. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)