Foreign Exchange Reserves and Nominal Effective Exchange Rate Index for the Pataca May 2009

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP140.6 billion (USD17.61 billion) at the end of May 2009. The reserves rose by 2.4% from the revised value of MOP137.4 billion (USD17.21 billion) for the previous month. When compared with the same period last year, the reserves increased by MOP24.2 billion or 20.8%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-May 2009 represented 31 times the currency in circulation or 251.2% of Pataca M2 at end-April 2009. 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 1.25 points month-to-month but rose by 4.10 points year-on-year to 91.34 in May 2009. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)