At the end of November, the Exchange Fund's total assets stood at $1.074 trillion, $43.3 billion higher than the month before. The Monetary Authority said both foreign currency assets and Hong Kong dollar assets rose $34.4 billion and $8.9 billion.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in the purchase of securities, but settled in the following month, purchases of foreign currencies with Hong Kong dollars, income from foreign currency assets and valuation gains on foreign currency investments.

The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to an increase in the balance of the banking system, placements received from fiscal reserves and valuation gains in the market value of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund. These increases were partly offset by a drop in bank borrowings and the sale of Hong Kong dollars for foreign currencies.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of November was $288.4 billion, up $5.7 billion, or 2%. The rise was mainly due to increases in the Aggregate Balance and in Certificates of Indebtedness.

Backing Assets rose $5.5 billion, or 1.7%, to $320.5 billion. The rise was mainly attributable to the corresponding rise in the Aggregate Balance and in Certificates of Indebtedness in the Monetary Base together with income from investments, which were partly offset by revaluation losses on investments.