Hong Kong’s central bank has been selling the territory’s dollar this year after relatively high interest rates and share offerings strengthened the currency to the edge of its designated range against the greenback.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has intervened 40 times to keep its currency’s peg against the US dollar in check in 2020, official data show — the most active spate of interventions since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. In total, it has sold HK$132bn to keep the exchange rate steady.
Analysts said the US Federal Reserve’s move in March to cut rates close to zero in response to the coronavirus pandemic had pushed US dollar interest rates below those in Hong Kong, prompting investors seeking better returns to shift into Hong Kong dollar assets.