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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1992
ON INFLATION, THE YEAR-ON-YEAR RATE OF INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) MODERATED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM 13.1% IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1991 TO 10.1% IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1992, AND FURTHER 9.0% IN BOTH THE SECOND AND THE THIRD QUARTER.
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TAKING THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1992 AS A WHOLE, THE AVERAGE INCREASE WAS 9.4%. THE CORRESPONDING INCREASES IN THE CPI(B) AND HANG SENG CPI WERE 9.6% AND 9.9%, WHILE THE COMPOSITE CPI WAS 9.6% HIGHER.
IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR, THE FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS WERE OBSERVED DURING THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1992.
FIRST, THE MARKET EXCHANGE RATE OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR AGAINST THE U.S. DOLLAR REMAINED GENERALLY STABLE UNDER THE LINKED EXCHANGE RATE SYSTEM, MOVING WITHIN A NARROW RANGE OF HK$7.723 TO HK$7.742 PER U.S. DOLLAR.
THIS REPRESENTED A DEVIATION OF LESS THAN ONE PERCENTAGE POINT FROM THE LINKED RATE.
SECONDLY, REFLECTING THE MOVEMENT OF THE U.S. DOLLAR AGAINST OTHER MAJOR CURRENCIES DURING THE THIRD QUARTER, THE TRADE-WEIGHTED EXCHANGE RATE INDEX OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR FELL SLIGHTLY, FROM 110.2 AT THE END OF THE SECOND QUARTER TO 109.6 AT THE END
OF THE THIRD QUARTER.
1
THIRDLY, FOLLOWING A FURTHER EASING IN U.S DOLLAR INTEREST RATES, LOCAL MONEY MARKET INTEREST RATES ALSO EASED.
DEPOSIT RATES ADMINISTERED BY THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION OF BANKS WERE ADJUSTED DOWNWARDS ACROSS-THE-BOARD BY HALF OF A PERCENTAGE POINT ON JULY 6.
FOURTHLY, HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS CONTINUED TO SHOW A NOTABLE GROWTH DURING THE THIRD QUARTER. THE GROWTH RATE OF THE BROADEST DEFINITION OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY, HKSM3, WAS BROADLY IN LINE WITH THAT OF NOMINAL GDP.
HONG KONG DOLLAR LOANS RECORDED A RELATIVELY SLOWER GROWTH THAN HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS DURING THE THIRD QUARTER.
IN PARTICULAR, THE GROWTH IN MORTGAGE LOANS SLOWED DOWN FURTHER, ALONG WITH CONSOLIDATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MARKET.
FIFTHLY, AFTER A STRONG RALLY IN THE SECOND QUARTER, THE STOCK MARKET CONSOLIDATED DURING THE THIRD QUARTER. THE HANG SENG INDEX STOOD AT 5,505 AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, 10% LOWER THAN AT THE END OF JUNE BUT 28% HIGHER THAN AT THE END OF DECEMBER LAST YEAR.
AVERAGE DAILY TURNOVER AMOUNTED TO HK$2.5 BILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER, DOWN FROM HK$3.5 BILLION IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
HK$236
SIXTHLY, THE SIZE OF THE EXCHANGE FUND WAS DISCLOSED ON JULY 15. AS AT THE END OF 1991, THE EXCHANGE FUND STOOD AT BILLION.
/FOREIGN CURRENCY