FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1982
MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR AUGUST
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THE MONEY SUPPLY ON ALL DEFINITIONS INCREASED IN AUGUST BY MORE THAN IT DID IN JULY. ACCORDING TO MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR AUGUST PUBLISHED TODAY.
THERE WAS A FURTHER SHIFT OF DEPOSITS FROM DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES TO BANKS, CAUSING M2 TO GROW FASTER THAN M3. THE GROWTH RATE OF THE FOREIGN CURRENCY COMPONENT OF M3 CONTINUED TO EXCEED THAT OF ITS HONG KONG DOLLAR COMPONENT, BUT TO A LESSER EXTENT THAN IN PRECEDING MONTHS, SUGGESTING THAT ADJUSTMENTS RESULTING FROM THE EXEMPTION OF FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS FROM INTEREST TAX, WHICH TOOK EFFECT ON FEBRUARY 25, MAY HAVE BEEN NEARING COMPLETION.
THE ATTACHED TABLE SETS OUT THE FIGURES FOR AUGUST 1982, AND FOR EARLIER MONTHS, FROM THE STATISTICS COLLECTED UNDER THE MONETARY STATISTICS ORDINANCE.
HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY
THE HK$ MONEY SUPPLY, ON THE NARROWEST DEFINITION, M1 ROSE BY 1.6 PER CENT IN AUGUST, AFTER FALLING BY 1.2 PER CENT IN JULY, PARTLY REFLECTING THE CONTINUING SHIFT OF DEPOSITS FROM DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES TO BANKS, HK$ M2 INCREASED BY 6.8 PER CENT IN AUGUST WHILE HKS M3 WAS UP BY ONLY THREE PER CENT, COMPARED WITH, RESPECTIVELY, AN INCREASE OF 1.3 PER CENT AND NO CHANGE IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH.
IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS HK$ M1 ROSE BY 1.8 PER CENT, HK$ M2 BY 10.5 PER CENT AND HK$ M3 BY TWO PER CENT. OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS TO AUGUST. THE RESPECTIVE GROWTH RATES WERE 5.2 PER CENT, 26.9 PER CENT AND 5.3 PER CENT.
TOTAL (ALL CURRENCIES) MONEY SUPPLY
TOTAL M1 ROSE BY TWO PER CENT IN AUGUST AFTER FALLING BY
AFTER 0.2 PER CENT IN JULY. TOTAL M2 GREW BY 6.4 PER CENT, RISING BY 5.1 PER CENT IN JULY, AND TOTAL M3 ROSE BY 4.1 PER CENT. AFTER AN INCREASE OF 3.9 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH.
IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS M1 INCREASED BY 3.5 PER CENT, M2 BY 20.3 PER CENT AND M3 BY 11.9 PER CENT. OVER THE TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD THESE THREE AGGREGATES GREW BY 10.4 PER CENT, 72.3 PER CENT AND 38 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
/LOANS FUR