Hong Kong's December Monetary Supply M3 still up 10.5%

Hong Kong's unadjusted HK dollar M3, the broadest measure of monetary supply, shrank by 0.8 percent in December, but still expanded by 10.5 percent year on year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Friday.

Seasonally adjusted HK dollar M1, the narrower measure, declined by 0.2 percent in December but increased by 36.5 percent year on year, it said.

Total deposits with authorized institutions were down 2.0 percent, with HK dollar deposits down 1.0 percent and foreign currency deposits down 3.1 percent. Renminbi deposits, however, grew by 3.9 percent to 62.7 billion yuan (9.18 billion U.S. dollars).

The HK dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 71.2 percent at the end of December from 69.9 percent at the end of November.

In the fourth quarter, loans for use in Hong Kong declined by 0. 7 percent. Financial-related lending contracted, and the growth in residential mortgage loans slowed, too. Trade financing loans, however, continued to expand.