Exchange Fund's total assets trickled down to $2.8861 trillion

Foreign currency assets rose $5.2b.

According to the Monetary Authority, the Exchange Fund’s total assets amounted to $2.8861 trillion at the end of March, down $9.7 billion on February.

Foreign currency assets saw a $5.2 billion increase while Hong Kong dollar assets saw a $14.9 billion decrease.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to valuation gains on foreign currency investments. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to fiscal drawdowns and valuation losses on Hong Kong equities.

The Currency Board Account showed that the Monetary Base at the end of March was $1.2423 trillion, an increase of $9.6 billion, or 0.78%, on February. The rise was mainly due to an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness.

Backing Assets rose $11.1 billion, or 0.83%, to $1.3429 trillion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness and exchange gain as the US dollar strengthened. The backing ratio increased to 108.1% at the end of March.