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THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1983
FEBRUARY MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS
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THE BUILD-UP IN THE PUBLIC'S HOLDINGS OF NOTES AND COIN AHEAD OF THE LUNAR NEW YEAR IN MID-FEBRUARY WAS ONLY PARTLY REVERSED DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH, ACCORDING TO MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR THE MONTH PUBLISHED TODAY (THURSDAY).
THUS, CURRENCY HELD BY THE PUBLIC WAS STILL 8.6 PER CENT HIGHER AT THE END OF FEBRUARY THAN AT THE BEGINNING. ON THE OTHER HAND THERE WAS A REDUCTION IN HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS MOST NOTABLY IN CURRENT AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, LOANS AND ADVANCES INCREASED ONLY FRACTIONALLY.
THE TOTAL FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS ROSE SLIGHTLY AND THERE WAS A FURTHER SHIFT OF DEPOSITS FROM DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES (DTCS) TO BANKS.
THE TABLE ATTACHED SETS OUT SUMMARY FIGURES FOR FEBRUARY 1983 AND COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS MONTHS.
HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY
THE NARROWEST DEFINITION OF MONEY SUPPLY, HK$M1, GREW BY 1.1 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY, AFTER A RISE OF 4.8 PER CENT IN JANUARY, THE BROADER DEFINITIONS, HK$M2 AND HK$M3, BOTH DECLINED BY 0.5 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH INCREASES OF 3.0 PER CENT AND 1.7 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN JANUARY.
IN THE THREE MONTHS TO FEBRUARY, HK$M1 ROSE BY 10.1 PER CENT, HK$M2 BY 5.1 PER CENT AND HK$M3 BY 2.9 PER CENT, IN THE 12 MONTHS TO FEBRUARY, THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES WERE 17.1 PER CENT, 28 PER CENT AND 2.9 PER CENT.
TOTAL MONEY SUPPLY
TOTAL M1 AND TOTAL M2 ROSE BY 2.2 PER CENT AND 0.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, AS AGAINST 5.3 PER CENT AND 4.0 PER CENT IN JANUARY. TOTAL M3, ON THE OTHER HAND, FELL BY A MARGINAL 0.2 PER CENT AFTER THE 2.9 PER CENT INCREASE IN JANUARY.
IN THE THREE MONTHS TO FEBRUARY, TOTAL M1 GREW BY 5.2 PER CENT. TOTAL M2 BY 7.1 PER CENT AND TOTAL M3 BY 4.8 PER CENT. IN THE 12 MONTHS TO FEBRUARY, THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES WERE 17.2 PER CENT, 79.9 PER CENT AND 42.7 PER CENT.
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