Jay Powell’s first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman this week will have a global audience, but arguably nowhere will it be more keenly watched than in Hong Kong.
Rising US interest rates have pushed the gap with equivalent rates in Hong Kong to their widest in a decade, sapping the strength of the local currency that has been pegged to the US dollar since Ronald Reagan was in the White House and been central to the prosperity of the region.
A decision is now looming for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on whether to buy Hong Kong dollars before the currency nears the lower end of its trading band, but risk damage to a property market that has a large role in the local economy and has boomed thanks to years of easy money.