rate index, strengthened by 3.8% during the first nine months
of this year. Third, the money supply (HK$M3) grew by only 1.6% during the same period. Admittedly, this figure benefits
from any structural shift from Hong
Hong Kong dollar to foreign
currency deposits that may have taken place as a result of the
exemption of foreign currency deposits from interest tax, but
it is likely that the underlying growth rate of the money
supply was markedly slower than in 1981, when the rapid growth
(21% during the year) was believed to have contributed, at
least in part, to the high rate of inflation.
Import prices
6.3
as
The year-on-year rate of increase in import prices, indicated by the unit value index of imports, decelerated to 2% in the third quarter, from 6% in the second quarter and 12% in the first quarter. The prices of all
all the five major
end-use categories of imports followed similar downward
largely due to the softening of world
(2)
trends
This
was
•
/ commodity
(2)
Year-on-year rates of increase in unit value indexes of imports
1982 Q1
1982 22
( 8 )
(음)
1982 23*
(8%)
Foodstuffs
12
8
4
67 00
8
4
5
-5
-5
7
45 2
Consumer goods
Fuels
Raw materials and
14
semi-manufactures
Capital goods
Total imports
22
12
16
5
9
2
Notes: (*) Estimated by using trade indexes available up to August 1982.
34