Hong Kong's foreign exchange reserve dropped by 500 million U.S. dollars to 126.5 billion U.S. dollars in May, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced Wednesday.

In a short statement published on its website, the Monetary Authority said the latest figure on the foreign currency reserve for the world's freest economy was just initially calculated and it may be revised in future.

Though dipping by 500 million U.S. dollars compared to that in April, the newly published foreign currency reserve for Hong Kong, had increased by 4.1 billion U.S. dollars, or 3.35 percent, over the same period of previous year.

With a foreign exchange reserve equivalent to about six times of its circulating currency, Hong Kong now ranks as the world's eighth largest holder of foreign currency reserve, behind the Chinese mainland, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Republic of Korea, India and Singapore, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Source: Xinhua