The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP169.7 billion (USD21.23 billion) at the end of September 2010. The reserves rose by 2.7% from the revised value of MOP165.2 billion (USD20.62 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP27.4 billion or 19.3%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-September 2010 represented 33 times the currency in circulation or 257.0% of Pataca M2 at end-August 2010.

The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency’s exchange rates against the currencies of Macao’s major trading partners, fell by 0.35 points month-to-month but increased by 0.91 points year-on-year to 90.50 in September 2010.

For enquiry, please contact:

Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)