Dubai: Money supply and credit expanded in the UAE in April according to the latest report by the Central Bank on country’s monetary aggregates.

The narrow money supply aggregate (M1) which includes currency in circulation plus monetary deposits, i.e., current accounts and call accounts at banks increased by 3.5 per cent from Dh412 billion at the end of March 2014 to Dh426.3 billion by the end of April 2014.

Key monetary indicators showed that the overall domestic liquidity continued to improve with broad money supply (M2) accelerating once again in April on an annual basis to reach 23.6 per cent year on year from 22.8 per cent; a new post-2008 high.

M2 comprises of M1 and quasi-monetary deposits such as resident time and savings deposits in dirhams, commercial prepayments in dirhams and resident deposits in foreign currencies. On a month on month basis M2 declined -0.1 per cent on the back of a -2.1 per cent drop in quasi money (foreign exchange and long-term dirham deposits).

Government deposits increased 8.6 per cent month on month, reversing the decline in March. On an annual basis however, government deposits in the banking system are down by more than one-third.

Broad Money (M3) which comprises M2 plus government deposits at banks operating in the UAE as well as at the Central Bank increased by 1 per cent from Dh1.28 trillion to Dh1.29 trillion.

Bank deposits rose 1 per cent month on month and 8.3 per cent year on year in April, up from 7.6 per cent year on year in March. The total increase in deposits in the year-to-April was Dh66.1 billion, compared with Dh74.0 billion in the same period last year.

Loans and advances increased by Dh37.4 billion in the first four months of this year up from an increase of Dh26.6 billion over the same period last year. Total bank loans and advances (gross basis) reached Dh1.31 trillion, while total bank assets (gross basis) decreased by 0.2 per cent to reach Dh2.17 trillion, during the same period. Loan growth in April alone was 0.6 per cent month on month while it was 8.3 per cent year on year, up from 7.4 per cent year on year in March.

The Central bank said that from February 2014, data on total bank loans and advances and total bank assets is presented on a “gross basis” instead of the previous practice of presenting them on a “net of provisions basis”.