The Exchange Fund's total assets stood at $1,223.5 billion in March, down $16.1 billion on February, the Monetary Authority says.

Foreign currency assets slipped by $8.4 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets fell $7.7 billion.

The decline in foreign currency assets was due mainly to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by interest and dividend income from foreign currency assets. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was due mainly to fiscal drawdowns.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of March was $299.1 billion, a drop of $9.7 billion, or 3.2%, from the end of February. The decline was due mainly to a fall in Certificates of Indebtedness.

The Backing Assets fell $9.6 billion, or 2.8%, to $331.8 billion. The decline was attributable mainly to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness in the Monetary Base and revaluation losses, which were partly offset by interest from investments. Reflecting this, the backing ratio rose from 110.53% at the end of February to 110.93% at the end of March.