Foreign exchange reserves at MOP216.6b

The preliminary estimate of Macau SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP216.6 billion at the end of January 2022, the Monetary Authority of Macao has announced. The reserves increased by 1.1% from the revised value of MOP214.2 billion for the previous month. The region’s foreign exchange reserves at end-January 2022 represented 11 times the currency in circulation, or 89.0% of pataca M2 at end-December 2021. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca fell 0.02 points month-on-month but rose 1.88 points year-on-year to 103.8 in January 2022. This suggests that the exchange rate of the pataca dropped against the currencies of Macau’s major trading partners on a monthly basis but grew on an annual basis.

SSM warns against H5N6 avian influenza

Two cases of human infection with H5N6 avian influenza have been discovered by mainland China’s Department of Health. This has led to them urging residents to avoid contact with birds. According to Macau’s Health Bureau, the first case was diagnosed in a 50-year-old man, a worker who currently resides in Baise City of Guangxi, on January 12. The second case was diagnosed in a 35-year-old man, a sole trader who resides in Zhenjiang City of Jiangsu province. On January 15, he developed symptoms and he was hospitalized on January 19 for treatment. Both patients are in a critical condition and are believed to have had contact with live birds or visited live bird markets before their symptoms manifested.