At the end of August, the foreign assets of the Exchange Fund were down $5.4 billion, the Monetary Authority says.

Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, amounted to $819.2 billion. Concurrently, the Monetary Base amounted to $255 billion.

The Monetary Base comprises of Certificates of Indebtedness, Government-issued currency notes and coins in circulation, the Aggregate Balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued.

Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to $53.4 billion. Foreign liabilities, representing mainly obligations under repurchase agreements, amounted to $15.7 billion.