MACAO - The preliminary estimate of the Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to 272.4 billion patacas ($34.03 billion) at the end of December 2011, according to figures released Monday by the Monetary Authority of Macao.

The reserves for December rose by 2.8 percent over the previous month, and, when compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by 43.2 percent, the figures indicated.

Macao's foreign exchange reserves at the end of December 2011 represented 46 times the currency in circulation at the end of November.

The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, rose by 0.57 points month-to-month but fell by 1.06 points year-on-year to 88.4 in December 2011.