Broad money supply rises in February

According to the Monetary Authority of Macao, broad money supply (M2) rose 0.5% in February to MOP863.6 billion, driven by a 7.4% increase in M1. Resident deposits grew 0.4% to MOP840.1 billion, while domestic loans to the private sector fell 0.7% to MOP489.1 billion. External loans increased 4.2%, pushing total banking sector loans to MOP1,046.8 billion. The overall loan-to-deposit ratio edged up to 73.9%, and the non-performing loan ratio declined slightly to 4.7%.