The Exchange Fund's total assets fell to $1.448 trillion in May, down $19.1 billion from April. Foreign-currency and Hong Kong dollar assets fell $5.8 billion and $13.3 billion, the Monetary Authority says.

The decline in foreign-currency assets was due mainly to valuation losses on foreign-currency investments, which was partly offset by interest and dividend income from foreign-currency assets.

The fall in Hong Kong dollar assets was due mainly to valuation losses on Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund and fiscal drawdowns.

The Monetary Base stood at $325.2 billion, down $1.1 billion or 0.3% from April. The decline was due mainly to a decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness and the market value of Exchange Fund Bills and Notes outstanding.

The Backing Assets dropped $1.8 billion or 0.5% to $356.7 billion. The decrease 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. The backing ratio fell to 109.7% from 109.91% in April.