Macau’s foreign exchange reserves dropped slightly at the end of November to MOP127.9 billion (US$16.02 billion). The latest official preliminary figures released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) show that reserves decreased 0.7 per cent from the revised value of MOP128.8 billion for the month of October. The monetary authority also advised that the amount of exchange reserves at the end of November represented 12 times the money in circulation in Macau, also known as M2, that aggregates all notes and coins plus bank deposits and savings. Foreign exchange reserves at the end of November also represented 102.8 per cent of the patacas in circulation compared to the end of October. Earlier this year, Macau’s foreign exchange reserves dropped in March to the lowest level since its separation from the fiscal reserves. At the time, the money in international currencies held by the central bank fell MOP7.8 billion in one year and half a billion in one month. The March reading was also the lowest figure since February 2012 when the government separated the fiscal and exchange reserves and started to manage them separately.
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