The preliminary estimate of Macau’s foreign exchange (forex)reserves amounted to 209.9 billion patacas (US$26.21 billion) at the end of July, the special administrative region's monetary regulator announced today.
The latest statistics from the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) indicated that the reserves increased by 0.1 percent from the revised value of 209.8 billion patacas for the previous month.
Macau's foreign exchange reserves at the end of July represented 11 times the local currency in circulation,or 86.2 percent of pataca M2 at the end of June.
The pataca (MOP) is directly pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at HK$1.00 = MOP1.03. It is indirectly linked to the US dollar through its Hong Kong dollar link.
M2 is a measure of the money supply that includes cash, checking deposits, and easily convertible near money.
The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca rose 0.85 point month on month but fell 3.92 points year on year to 103.3 in July 2021, implying that, overall speaking, the exchange rate of the pataca grew against the currencies of Macau's major trading partners on a monthly basis but dropped on an annual basis.
While the pataca is Macau’s sole legal tender, the Hong Kong dollar is the city’s customary tender. The mainland’s yuan is also increasingly used in Macau.
– Xinhua, MPD
