Monetary statistics for April 2023

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     According to statistics published today (May 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions remained virtually unchanged in April 2023. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 0.4 per cent while foreign currency deposits increased by 0.5 per cent in April. In the year to end-April, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 0.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 4.9 per cent in April to RMB833.0 billion at the end of April, mainly reflecting fund flows of corporates. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB725.3 billion in April, compared with RMB949.6 billion in March. It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities. It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.  
      
     Total loans and advances decreased by 0.7 per cent in April, but increased by 0.2 per cent in the year to end-April. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 0.8 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively in April. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 88.7 per cent at the end of April from 88.2 per cent at the end of March, as Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased while Hong Kong dollar loans increased.
      
     Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both decreased by 0.4 per cent in April and both rose by 0.9 per cent when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 1.6 per cent in April and decreased by 20.1 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and total M3 both rose by 0.1 per cent in April. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 both rose by 1.7 per cent.  
      
     As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.