Overview
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority reduced its base rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% hours after the Federal Reserve’s decision.
- The Fed lowered the federal funds target to 3.75%–4.00% at its FOMC meeting, a move that CME FedWatch showed 99.9% of traders had expected.
- This was Hong Kong’s second quarter-point cut in about six weeks, taking cumulative easing to 50 basis points and marking the lowest base rate since November 2022.
- The HKMA said the reduction aims to lower funding costs to support businesses and ease the burden on mortgage borrowers.
- Under the Linked Exchange Rate System, the HK dollar’s HK$7.75–HK$7.85 band effectively imports U.S. monetary settings, with some analysts pointing to softer U.S. jobs data as a reason for the Fed’s shift.