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

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP111.8 billion (USD14.0 billion) at the end of February 2008. The reserves increased by 2.6% from the revised figure of MOP108.9 billion (USD13.6 billion) for the previous month. When compared with the same period last year, the reserves increased by MOP32.9 billion or 41.7%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-February 2008 represented 25 times the currency in circulation or about 208% of Pataca M2 at end-January 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 0.37 points month-to-month or 4.31 points year-on-year, from 89.11 in January 2008 to 88.74 in February 2008. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)