The Exchange Fund total assets stood at $1.5092 trillion in February, down $41.1 billion, the Monetary Authority said today.

Foreign currency assets dropped $32.9 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased $8.2 billion.

The drop in foreign currency assets was due mainly to valuation losses on foreign currency investments and redemptions of Certificates of Indebtedness.

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

The Currency Board Account shows the Monetary Base in February was $529.6 billion, a drop of $11.9 billion, or 2.2%, on January.

The Backing Assets dropped $12.4 billion, or 2.1%, to $573 billion. The backing ratio stood at 108.19%, compared with 108.11% in January.