Foreign Exchange Reserves as at the End of May 2007
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: June 5, 2007
Foreign Exchange Reserves as at the End of
May 2007
1.The foreign exchange reserves of the Republic of China amounted to US$265.70 billion at the end of May 2007, showing a decrease of US$841 million from the figure recorded at the end of the previous month.
The main factors responsible for the drop in foreign exchange reserves in May 2007 were:
(1)The Euro and other major currencies depreciated against the US dollar. Foreign exchange reserves denominated in these currencies were worth less in terms of the base currency, the US dollar.
(2)Foreign assets held by domestic investors increased.
2.The quantitative level of foreign exchange reserves is not a matter of "the more the better". The main concern is whether it is sufficient. The foreign exchange reserves of US$265.7 billion is sufficient for the payment of imports up to 15.7 months in this country.
As the scale of economy differs, so should the optimal amount of foreign exchange reserves.
It is pointless to compare or rank the absolute amounts of foreign exchange reserves among different countries.
The amounts of foreign exchange reserves of selected economies and their equivalents of import payments are as follows:
Tables & Graphs [ XLS ]
Note: The next dissemination will be made at 16:20 p.m. on July 5, 2007;
the advance release calendar can be accessed on our website at: http://www.cbc.gov.tw/EngHome/ESDDS/calacal.htm.